The 2019 NBA Slam Dunk Contest takes place on Saturday night at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte as one of the main attractions of NBA All-Star Weekend. This year’s event will feature a four-dunker field, with Hawks forward John Collins, Knicks guard Dennis Smith Jr., Hornets wing Miles Bridges and Thunder guard Hamidou Diallo all hoping to put on a memorable display. Collins is the 7-4 favorite in the latest 2019 NBA Slam Dunk Contest odds, but all four dunkers are tightly packed with Diallo as the biggest long shot at 3-1. So before you make your 2019 NBA Slam Dunk contest picks, be sure to check out the predictions from dialed-in NBA expert Mike Barner first. He’s studied the contest’s history and this field in depth to release a confident pick for Saturday night.
A respected NBA Fantasy expert, both season-long and daily, Barner has seen his work appear in Sports Illustrated and on Yahoo, RotoWire and KFFL. He has 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 lately: Over his past 38 picks, Barner has cashed at a massive 74 percent win rate that has returned nearly $1,700 to $100 players. That payout doesn’t include the 6-1 parlay he nailed by hitting all three of his best bets for Monday.
Now he has analyzed the 2019 NBA Slam Dunk Contest participants from all angles and is delivering his picks only at SportsLine. One thing can tell you is that Barner is is fading Collins.
Collins has put together an impressive highlight reel of dunks during his two seasons in the NBA and he already has 109 dunks in 41 games this season, with dunks accounting for 22.2 percent of his field-goal attempts. However, a lot of his biggest dunks come on lobs and putbacks and trying to incorporate that into his routine adds some uncontrollable variables.
“It’s tough for big men like John Collins to win this event,” Barner told SportsLine. “Case in point, Blake Griffin was the last power forward to win, which came back in 2011. I’m definitely avoiding Collins.”
As Barner notes, bigger dunkers are at a natural disadvantage unless they bring a lot of power to the table and that’s not something we’ve seen from Collins with his in-game dunks. So fade the favorite and look to one of the more explosive dunkers to take advantage at a better price.
So which high-fliers should excite at the 2019 NBA Slam Dunk Contest? And what trend makes one player a must-back? Visit SportsLine right now to get Saturday’s NBA Slam Dunk Contest picks, all from the SportsLine expert on a massive 28-10 NBA heater, and find out.
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