NBA All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles tips off at 9 p.m. ET Friday with the Rising Stars Challenge, which pits the best American rookies and sophomores against their counterparts from the rest of the world. Team World is favored by four points. The over-under, or total number of points Vegas expects to be scored, is 296.5.
Before you make any kind of pick on this high-flying matchup, you have to see what SportsLine NBA expert Galin Dragiev has to say.
Known as "the Dragon" in handicapping circles, Dragiev has degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Physics. He uses that analytical background every time he makes a pick.
That's helped him to a blistering 27-13 run on his NBA picks heading into the All-Star break. Now he's set his sights on the Rising Stars Challenge and his strong plays are in.
We can tell you that he likes the over because of the style of play and background of many of these players.
"These young guys are all on teams that run fast-paced offenses," Dragiev said. "Dennis Smith Jr., Jamal Murray, Frank Ntilikina and Donovan Mitchell will run all night."
But his stronger pick for this matchup is against the spread, and he's sharing that one only over at SportsLine.
Dragiev has studied these rosters and has taken into account that Team World features Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid, who will likely be the best overall player on the floor.
Originally from Cameroon, Embiid is developing into one of the best big men in the NBA, averaging 23.7 points and 11.1 rebounds. He gives Team World a huge boost and is one of the biggest reasons it is favored in the Rising Stars Challenge 2018.
But just because Team World may have the best player in this game doesn't mean that Team USA will lose by five points or more.
Team USA features plenty of hot-shooting, athletic players who will look to get the ball up and down the court and turn this into a fast-paced contest.
They will be without Lonzo Ball (knee), but the Americans will have young Lakers stars Kyle Kuzma and Brandon Ingram, both of whom will be playing on their home floor.
Teaming them up with the likes of Jaylen Brown of the Celtics, Smith Jr. of the Mavericks and Kris Dunn of the Bulls should give Team USA the overall talent to keep this one competitive or pull off the upset.
Dragiev has evaluated all of these circumstances and has found an X-factor that gives a strong clue to which side you should back. He's sharing what that is, and his point-spread pick, only over at SportsLine.
So what side do you need to be all over when Team USA plays Team World in the Rising Stars Challenge? Visit SportsLine now to find out what the x-factor for this matchup will be and which Rising Stars Challenge team you should back, all from an expert on a blistering 27-13 run on his NBA picks.
USA Today Expands Deal With Mars Reel for High-School Basketball Content
Gannett’s USA Today Sports Media Group has formed an expanded content-distribution partnership with Mars Reel, which produces highlights, profiles and other content covering the high-school basketball world.
USA Today High School Sports, which reaches an aggregate audience of 60 million people annually, began distributing Mars Reel’s short-form content in late 2017. Currently, this includes 60 original videos per week. The new partnership will expand the volume of Mars Reel videos USA Today High School Sports distributes and will also extend to additional content formats, featured across USA Today Sports platforms.
In addition, the two companies will co-produce new series, including “Top 5 Dunks of the Week” and “The Unknowns,” which will focus on rising stars. Both are set to launch in 2018.
Mars Reel was founded in 2010 by Brandon and Bradley Deyo (pictured above), when they were themselves high-school basketball players living in Maryland. The company says its videos are viewed by 25 million unique monthly viewers across platforms including Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Snapchat.
“Our high-school sports sector has grown exponentially over the past year and with partners like Mars Reel, we will leverage differentiated highlights and create unique branded video content for our voracious high school basketball fans,” said Chris Pirrone, GM of USA Today Sports Media Group. He praised Brandon and Bradley Deyo’s “passion for high-school sports combined with their creative vision for reaching young millennials.”
Bradley Deyo, co-founder and COO of Mars Reel Media, said the partnership with USA Today Sports has helped it significantly expand its reach to attract a whole new base of high-school basketball fans. “As we continue to expand our distribution network, we are particularly excited to be working with the team at USA Today Sports to produce unique, story-driven content,” he said.
Mars Reel recently launched its first documentary series, “Mars Reel Chronicles,” which features vlog-style episodes from up-and-coming basketball stars as they share their excitement for the game, practice and workout regimes, academic school and home life demands, and goals for the future. The series is available across all of Mars Reel’s social-media platforms.
L.A.-based Mars Reel also boasts a roster of well-known investors and advisers across the sports, media, entertainment, and technology sectors. The company’s chairman is Jerry Hall, previously founder and CEO of Rev Software. Mars Reel has raised $2.7 million in funding to date from investors including LeBron James, Maverick Carter, Kevin Durant, hip-hop artist Nas, Shane Battier, Devin Johnson, Cedric Stewart and 500 Startups. Others include DraftKings CEO Jason Robins; Bruce Tuchman, former global network chief for AMC, Sundance and MGM; and lead investor Robert Hisaoka.
Mars Reel also has a partnership with LeBron James’ Uninterrupted digital-media company to team on content development and distribution.
Separately, Overtime, a Brooklyn-based media startup targeting high-school sports, this week announced $9.5 million in funding led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from Kevin Durant and others.
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NBA Rising Stars Challenge 2018: Rosters, Snubs, Predictions for USA vs. World
Garrett Ellwood/Getty Images
The NBA's All-Star Weekend is about more than just the league's established stars, it's about its rising stars, too.
The Rising Stars Challenge, presented by Mountain Dew Kickstart, is the perfect showcase for the up-and-comers looking to have their own coming out party.
The game will be played at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Friday, Feb. 16 at 9 p.m. ET, and will feature 10 rookies or second-year players from the United States up against 10 counterparts from other countries around the world, and it can be seen on TNT and heard on ESPN Radio.
Usually a bit more entertaining than the actual All-Star Game on Sunday, this year's Rising Stars features a triumvirate of players from the Philadelphia 76ers (Joel Embiid, Dario Saric and Ben Simmons) and the Los Angeles Lakers (Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma and Brandon Ingram).
Take a quick look at the rest of the rosters, which were selected by the league's assistant coaches, below, as well as snubs and predictions.
U.S. Team
Player | Position | Team
Brandon Ingram | F | Lakers
Kyle Kuzma | F | Lakers
Lonzo Ball | G | Lakers
Kris Dunn | G | Bulls
Dennis Smith Jr. | G | Mavericks
Jayson Tatum | F | Celtics
Jaylen Brown | G-F | Celtics
Taurean Prince | F | Hawks
John Collins | F-C | Hawks
Donovan Mitchell | G | Jazz
Malcolm Brogdon* | G | Bucks
World Team
Player | Position | Team
Lauri Markkanen | F | Bulls
Ben Simmons | G-F | 76ers
Dario Saric | F | 76ers
Joel Embiid | C | 76ers
Dillon Brooks | F-G | Grizzlies
Bogdan Bogdanovic | G | Kings
Buddy Hield | G | Kings
Jamal Murray | G | Nuggets
Frank Ntilikina | G | Knicks
Domantas Sabonis | C-F | Pacers
* = injured and will not participate
Jesse D. Garrabrant/Getty Images
Snubs
No matter how fair the selection process appears to be, there will always be snubs. There's no way around it.
This year's biggest snub would have to be De'Aaron Fox of the Sacramento Kings.
With the departure of George Hill in the trade to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the high-coiffed rook has been given the keys to the kingdom, and he's quickly becoming one of the players to watch.
The No. 5 overall pick in the 2017 Draft is averaging 11.3 points, 4.3 assists and 2.7 rebounds per game.
The only other players that could be considered snubs are Dejounte Murray of the San Antonio Spurs and Josh Jackson of the Phoenix Suns.
Murray is slowly making his mark as the new starting point guard, averaging 7.1 points, 2.8 assists and 5.3 rebounds per contest.
Jackson is probably getting overlooked playing on a bad team. Despite early struggles, the rookie is averaging 11 points and 4.1 rebounds per outing.
Fox, Murray and Jackson didn't make the cut this year, but odds are they'll get serious consideration for next season's game.
Prediction
This game will come down to speed.
The U.S. team, with its otherworldly athleticism in players like Mitchell, Smith Jr., Brown, Tatum and Kuzma, should be able to run the floor like gazelles.
Nobody will be keeping count, but there should be more than enough dunks and alley-oops coming from this squad.
With Embiid, Simmons and Sabonis, the World team has the height advantage and may look to play half court offense. Simmons, Saric and Embiid play well together, so look for their chemistry to thwart the U.S. team's pace.
In the end, though, the trophy should remain on U.S. soil.
Score: USA 145, World 132
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