Certainly Sunday night's All-Star Game at Cowboys Stadium lost a bit of star power with the news that the Lakers' Kobe Bryant won't be able to play, but the Western Conference still has opened as a 1-point favorite on Bodog's NBA odds despite being sans Kobe. There will be live betting available on the game at Bodog.
Bryant missed the Lakers' final three games before the break with a sprained ankle and was replaced on the roster by the Mavericks' Jason Kidd. However, another Maverick, Dirk Nowitzki, will replace Kobe in the West's starting lineup and will draw the opening defensive assignment on the East's LeBron James – not that there's much defense in this game. It's Bryant's first missed All-Star Game since the 1999 lockout.
The Eastern Conference also had a late roster change, with Allen Iverson out of the game because his daughter is ill. Not to make light of his daughter's illness, but A.I. had no right being in the game anyways. New York forward David Lee takes Iverson's spot on the roster and becomes the first Knicks' All-Star since 2001. It's not clear who will take A.I.'s spot in the starting lineup. The only other late injury news, as of this writing, is whether the Bulls' Derrick Rose will play in the game. Rose bruised his hip in Chicago's final game before the break and gives himself about a 75 percent chance of playing. He will suit up regardless and won't be replaced on the East roster even if he can't play.
The total for this game wasn't yet posted on Bodog as of this writing, but it will be quite high when it is. Last year the West won 146-119 for its sixth win in the past 10 All-Star Games. In those 10, the total has averaged 254 points (excluding overtimes). Six of the last 10 games have gone over 260.
Bodog also offers MVP props for the game, and LeBron is the overwhelming favorite at 2/1 (Kobe was right behind him). James has won the award twice, both coming in the past two even-year staging of this game. But recent history shows your best bet might be someone with hometown (in this case Dallas) connections. Since 2001, four players with connections to where the All-Star Game was being played were named MVP. They are: Iverson in 2001 (Washington, D.C.; Iverson went to Georgetown), Kobe in 2002 (Philly; Bryant's hometown), Shaquille O'Neal in 2004 (Los Angeles; Shaq was still a Laker) and Shaq as co-MVP with Kobe last year (in Phoenix; Shaq was with the Suns). Thus your best bet might be the Mavericks' Nowitzki at 7/1 or Kidd as part of the field at 15/1. In addition, the Raptors' Chris Bosh is from Dallas; he is 15/1 to win MVP.
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