On Sunday, the 2019 BIG3 Basketball season will come to a conclusion with the league championship at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. You can catch the action on CBS Sports, with pre-game coverage starting at 2pm Eastern and tip-off coming an hour later. If you’re not familiar with the BIG3 format, the two teams play halfcourt and go until one team has 50 points, although if that makes the game 50-49, the teams play until one side has a lead of at least two points. This year, the Killer 3’s will face off against the Triplets for the championship. Considering including the the 2019 BIG3 Basketball Championship odds in your online betting for the weekend? Check out our betting preview of the contest.
2019 BIG3 Basketball Championship Betting Preview
The Killer 3’s finished in the BIG3 basement two years ago, in the league’s first season, and they came in fifth a year ago, missing out on the postseason again. This year, they finished 5-3, good for a tie for second place. They beat the defending champions, Power, last week, 50-42, getting 13 points from 14-year NBA veteran (and team captain) Stephen Jackson and 13 more from Donte Greene, a former Syracuse standout. C.J. Watson added a dozen points for the Killer 3’s. Former NBA players Josh Powell and Eddy Curry are also on the team. Charles Oakley, a 19-season NBA veteran who played most of his best seasons for the New York Knicks, is the team’s coach. The Triplets posted a 7-1 record for the season, a terrific effort from one of the league’s four expansion franchises. The Triplets rolled over the 3-Headed Monsters in the semifinals, winning in 50-39 fashion. Joe Johnson, who was an All-Star in the NBA seven times — and who has earned a workout with the Philadelphia 76ers at the age of 38 after his heroics in BIG3 this season — was named league MVP, putting up 21.9 points and 3.9 assists per contest during the regular season. Both of those numbers led the league. He ranked third in the league with 7.5 boards per contest. In the Triplets’ semifinal win over the 3-Headed Monsters, he put up 26 of the team’s 50 points, dishing out three assists and grabbing five boards. He also serves as the team’s co-captain along with 14-year NBA veteran center Al Jefferson. Three other players on the roster, Jannero Pargo, Jamario Moon and Alan Anderson also have at least five NBA seasons each on their resumes. Their coach is Lisa Leslie, a Naismith Hall of Famer and a three-time winner of the Most Valuable Player award in the WNBA. She was named BIG3 coach of the year for her team’s performance. Because of the way the league schedule works, the Killer 3’s and the Triplets actually did not meet during the 2019 campaign. However, many of the players know each other because of their time together in the NBA. Joe Johnson and Stephen Jackson have become particularly skilled in the halfcourt game, but Johnson’s ability to take over the court should have the Killer 3’s worried about how to defend him. The quick passing and the back-door emphasis of halfcourt transition from defense to offense make the sport unique in comparison to the fullcourt version of the game. If you like the Killer 3’s, then you see the momentum that the team showed in the last weeks of the season to move into second giving them an edge. If you like the Triplets, then you a season’s worth of excellence, not just by Johnson but by the entire team, paying off with a title. Given the relative ease with which the Triplets have moved through their slate, it is hard to bet against them — but it will be close. 2019 BIG3 Basketball Championship Prediction: Triplets 50, Killer 3’s 46SUNDAY. It all comes down to this. Killer 3s. Triplets. It’s the #BIG3Championship in Los Angeles. Watch LIVE at 3PM ET on CBS or get your tickets at https://t.co/6y7TmFXCXV to witness history. Pre-show kicks off at 2PM ET sharp on @CBSSportsNet 🏀🏆🔥 pic.twitter.com/6RbNW6J8il
— BIG3 on CBS (@thebig3) August 25, 2019
