2023 NBA All-Star Game prediction, odds, start time: Team LeBron vs. Team Giannis picks, bets by proven expert

SportsLine's Mike Barner just released his pick and predictions for Team Giannis vs. Team LeBron in the NBA All-Star Game 2023

By CBS Sports Staff

Feb 19, 2023 at 6:11 pm ET • 4 min read

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The 2023 NBA All-Star Game is set for Sunday evening in front of a national audience. The contest wraps up a jam-packed weekend of basketball-related activities in Salt Lake City, with the eyes of the NBA world on Utah. The main event pits Giannis Antetokounmpo against LeBron James as the captains who will be selecting from the league's best player pool. The NBA All-Star draft will take place shortly before tipoff, leaving a bit of never-before-seen intrigue for the game.

Tipoff is at 8:30 p.m. ET in Salt Lake City. Caesars Sportsbook lists Team LeBron as a 3-point favorite in the latest 2023 NBA All-Star Game odds, while the over/under for total points is set at 325. Before making any 2023 NBA All-Star Game picks, be sure to check out the 2023 NBA All-Star Weekend predictions from SportsLine expert Mike Barner.

A respected NBA Fantasy expert, both season-long and daily, Barner's work has appeared in Sports Illustrated and on Yahoo, RotoWire and KFFL. He's also been featured on ESPN Radio. Barner digs deep into the data, examining team trends and projecting game outcomes. Barner's expertise has been on full display over a wide sample.

Over the past three seasons at SportsLine, Mike has crushed sportsbooks with a 425-343-12 record, returning $4,416 to $100 bettors run in against-the-spread picks. He also has an incredible feel for NBA All-Star Weekend. In 2022, Barner nailed his over/under pick on the All-Star Game. Anybody who followed his picks saw some huge returns.

Now, he has zeroed in on Sunday's NBA All-Star Game 2023, analyzed the rosters and matchups, and released a confident against-the-spread pick. Head to SportsLine now to see it. Here are the Team LeBron vs. Team Giannis lines and trends:

NBA All-Star Game 2023 spread: LeBron -3
NBA All-Star Game 2023 over/under: 325
NBA All-Star Game 2023 money line: LeBron -155, Giannis +130
Team LeBron: James is seeking a sixth consecutive All-Star victory
Team Giannis: Antetokounmpo is the all-time leader in All-Star scoring average
NBA All-Star Game 2023 picks: See picks at SportsLine

2023 NBA All-Star Game format

Team LeBron and Team Giannis will represent charitable organizations, with Team LeBron playing for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Utah and Team Giannis playing for Raise the Future. The winner of each quarter will be tracked, with the winner receiving additional funds for its organization, and then a Final Target Score will be implemented to determine the overall winner.

The Final Target Score, sometimes referred to as an Elam Ending, will be 24 points higher than the leading team's total score through three quarters. That leads to an untimed fourth quarter, and the first team to reach the Final Target Score will be victorious. See which side to back here.

Why Team LeBron can cover

LeBron James is one of the most versatile and adaptable players in NBA history. That flexibility allows James to be creative with roster construction to build a team around himself, and James is 5-0 as a captain since the NBA moved to its new draft format. James has surrounded himself with both Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic in three straight All-Star Games, and it certainly helps that James can lean on his own talents.

He scored 24 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and dished out six assists a year ago in Cleveland, and James is about to set a new NBA record with 19 All-Star appearances. He is the all-time leader in All-Star scoring with 413 points and 172 field goals, and James will be prepared to put on a show on Sunday. See which side to back here.

Why Team Giannis can cover

The inherent uncertainty of the 2023 NBA All-Star Game might reveal value on Team Giannis. At this juncture, Team Giannis is the betting underdog and, through the prism of 2023 only, Antetokounmpo is the better centerpiece of a team when compared to James. James is dealing with injury issues this season and, unlike previous wins for Team LeBron, he isn't able to select either Stephen Curry or Giannis Antetokounmpo.

In addition, three of the five games in the captain format have been decided by three points or fewer, and Antetokounmpo is the all-time leader in averaging 29.0 points per contest in the All-Star game. He is shooting 71.4% in his All-Star career, and Antetokounmpo is arguably the best player in the NBA today. See which side to back here.