NBA All-Star Game: Team LeBron vs Team Durant (2/20/22) Starting Lineups, Matchup Preview, Betting Odds, Live Stream

Team LeBron vs Team Durant Matchup Preview (2/20/22)

The 71st All-Star Game takes place on Sunday night between Team LeBron and Team Durant. In 2018, the NBA changed the format of the game from East vs West to captains drafting teams. Ever since this format’s inception in 2018, Team LeBron has won every single time. The main reason for this is LeBron’s superior drafting compared to the other captains. Jarrett Allen, Darius Garland, Fred VanVleet, Ja Morant, Andrew Wiggins, LaMelo Ball, and Dejounte Murray will be making their All-Star debuts. LeBron James, meanwhile, is competing in his 18th All-Star Game. This Sunday is also Chris Paul’s 12th appearance in the All-Star Game. 

Team LeBron vs Team Durant Betting Odds

The moneyline is currently at -200 for Team LeBron, and the spread is -5.5 Team LeBron. I am going with Team LeBron to cover the spread here and beat Team Durant by at least 10 points. The roster is more complete and talented for Team LeBron. Plus, Team LeBron has won every year, so it’s historically the correct move. The Over Under is set at 322 points. The over would have hit only one time in the captain era of the All-Star Game. I like the under here; players are actually incentivized to play defense at the end and win the exhibition now. It will be very close though, and I expect it to be under by only a few points. 

TV Schedule

Date: 2/20/22
Time: 8:00 PM ET
Arena: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse – Cleveland, OH
Channel: TNT

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Team LeBron Starting Lineup

PG: Stephen Curry
SG: DeMar DeRozan
SF: LeBron James
PF: Giannis Antetokounmpo
C: Nikola Jokic

Team LeBron Analysis

Team LeBron is heavily favored at the moment for a few reasons. Kevin Durant is injured and thus cannot play in the exhibition. Team LeBron has the edge at every position in the starting lineup, although Embiid is basically even with Jokic. Team Durant is helpless against Giannis, the 2021 All-Star Game Kobe Bryant MVP Award winner. Giannis was a perfect 16/16 last year from the field. Tatum cannot stop Giannis from driving to the hoop. If Team Durant puts Embiid on Giannis, then Jokic will have a field day against Tatum, who is too small to guard him. Team LeBron also wins the reserves in my mind. Luka Doncic scorched the NBA in his last five games prior to the break. He averaged 39.8 PPG, 11.2 RPG, and 7.8 APG over that span. Chris Paul and Jimmy Butler are elite two-way players who can slow down Team Durant when defense finally gets played in the end. Donovan Mitchell and Fred VanVleet are lighting up the NBA. Overall, Team LeBron is more talented across the board. 

Team Durant Starting Lineup

PG: Ja Morant
SG: Trae Young
SF: Andrew Wiggins
PF: Jayson Tatum
C: Joel Embiid

Team Durant Analysis

Jayson Tatum is a rising superstar, but he is not on Durant’s level. The starting lineup will sorely miss Durant’s all-time scoring and efficiency. Team Durant also rosters the clear weak link in the ten starters: Andrew Wiggins. He’s an elite 3&D player, but Wiggins is out of place among these players. I see Team Durant turning away from Wiggins down the stretch in favor of a more natural scorer like Devin Booker or Zach LaVine. Booker and LaVine can score the ball, and LaMelo will be fun to watch in this format. However, the reserves appear to be a slightly worse group than Team LeBron’s reserves. Best case scenario, Team Durant’s reserves win the battle by a few points against Team LeBron’s reserves. However, the starting lineup for Team LeBron will win their minutes and cover the spread.