NBA All-Stars: This bet is served up on a trey

Dallas scored nine goals and somehow Roope Hintz did not get involved; we don't want to talk about it. The NBA is officially on break, and there's only one NHL game tonight. We'll quickly touch the ice but also look ahead to tomorrow, as the NBA All-Star events offer some intriguing and fun betting angles worth some bets.

Betting: Carolina over 3.5 goals (-118 FanDuel)

It all turns up Carolina here on the road against the Arizona Coyotes. The Hurricanes are averaging 4.3 goals per game on the road over the last month and a half, and the Coyotes are allowing 3.8 goals per game on home ice during that time. It also seems as if the Hurricanes should be able to notch a power-play goal to help the cause, as no team commits more penalties than Arizona at the moment.

We do sometimes worry about Friday games in the NHL, as teams and players sometimes underperform ahead of the weekend. For what it's worth, Carolina has scored 15 goals in their last three Friday games, scoring at least four each time.

NBA All-Star Weekend bets

Three-Point contest: Jalen Brunson to win (+750 FanDuel)

If you're looking for a touch of simplicity and stupidity in a bet, you've come to the right place. The All-Star Game festivities are taking place at the Pacers' home stadium: Gainbridge Fieldhouse. This likely does not hold much true stock, but we sometimes like to see how each participant in this contest has shot from three when playing in Indiana.

Obviously, an in-game shooting percentage is significantly different than the stations that are the Three-Point Contest, but what if these players simply know that when they enter this arena, the shots will be dropping?

Of the eight participants, Jalen Brunson has the highest shooting percentage from deep in games played here, at 44%. It sounds stupid, and you know what? It probably is. Just saying, but we employed this strategy two years ago and nailed a Karl-Anthony Towns win at +1300. 

Dunk contest: Jaime Jaquez Jr. over 93.5 first-round score (-130 FD) & Jacob Toppin over 93.5 first-round score (-130 FD)

Our pals at Action Network broke down some intriguing markets for tomorrow's events, and one part of their analysis really stood out to us: The new dunk contest scoring rules.

Back in the day, judges could give out any scores they wanted on a scale of 1-10, and then the five scores would be tallied up. However, now, judges can only award dunks between 40-50, which is then averaged out. That gives us a much higher floor to work with on these first-round scores (two dunks each). The floor grows even higher when you consider we've rarely seen a judge award a score lower than a 45 of late.

As such, we'll load up the overs on the two lowest lines we have, as both dunkers should have the mercy of the judges to help keep their scores respectable.

In the news ...

NBA heads to All-Star break — The NBA will head on a six-day hiatus with the All-Star festivities taking place throughout the weekend in Indiana. Looking past this weekend for a moment, it's worth noting the embarrassing loss Milwaukee suffered last night to a severely under-manned Memphis Grizzlies team. Doc Rivers's squad isn't quite looking like a championship team, which has us wanting to fade them and secure some other Eastern Conference squads. Boston at +115 to win the East isn't the flashiest, but it does seem like the most likely option. We're also interested in Cleveland at +900, as the Cavaliers are 23-5 since the middle of December, which has shot them to second in the conference standings.

Genesis Invitational second round today — After one round, it's Patrick Cantlay atop the scoreboard with a -7 showing, followed by Cameron Davis, Luke Lust and Jason Day at 6-under. Of those four, List's odds to win at 20-1 are currently the best, as Cantlay is +330 to take it. There's plenty of golf still to be played. We do like List to out-score his fellow round-mates today given his strong Thursday, a bet you can find on the 3-Ball market at +150.

Iowa's Caitlin Clark sets all-time NCAA women's scoring record — Thanks to a deep three on Thursday night, Iowa's Caitlin Clark now stands alone atop the NCAA women's basketball history books. Clark surpassed the 3,527 points from Kelsey Plum to become the all-time record holder for most points in a collegiate career, with more games to go in her final season. Clark ended the night with 49 points in Iowa's win, and the Hawkeyes are +850 to win it all this year, the one thing missing from Clark's career. They were runners-up last season, we don't hate a bet on them taking it all the way in 2024.

Note: Bark Bets will resume on Tuesday. Enjoy the holiday weekend!

Today's Bark Bets is written by Griffin Carroll. Follow him on Substack: griffybets.substack.com.