NBA All-Star Game 2023 odds, picks: Esteemed NBA expert locks in Jordan Rising Stars selection

NBA All-Star Weekend in Salt Lake City begins Friday with the 2023 Jordan Rising Stars Challenge. The annual showcase of the league's premier young talent features a three-game mini-tournament involving four teams comprised of rookies and sophomores from the NBA rookies, as well as G League players.

The teams are coached by 2011 NBA champion Jason Terry and former NBA All-Stars Pau Gasol, Deron Williams and Joakim Noah. The festivities at Vivint Arena are set to begin at 9 p.m. ET. Team Pau is the betting favorite at +160, with Team Deron at +200, Team Joakim at +225 and Team Jason at +500 to win the tournament.

Before making any 2023 Jordan Rising Stars picks, you'll want to see what elite NBA expert Mike Barner has to say.

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 on 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 analyzed the 2023 Jordan Rising Stars from all angles and is delivering his picks for SportsLine. We can tell you Barner is fading Team Jason, acknowledging they are "fighting the biggest uphill battle." Instead, Barner sees value on a plus-money team elsewhere.

However, he's identified a critical X-factor, saying one side "has all the pieces to emerge as the winner!" You ABSOLUTELY need to see it before locking in any picks of your own.

So who wins the 2023 Jordan Rising Stars? And what critical X-factor do you need to know about? ... Join SportsLine right now to get Friday's 2023 Jordan Rising Stars pick, all from the SportsLine expert who nailed the spread and over/under in last year's NBA All-Star Game!