NBA All-Star 3-Point Contest: Roster for Sharpshooting Competition Released

The NBA three-point contest lineup has finally been announced and no, Jeremy Lin is not going to be there (per CBS Sports).

Defending champion James Jones of the Miami Heat will be there, as will teammate Mario Chalmers. Joining the pair is Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love, Atlanta Hawks guard Joe Johnson, Orlando Magic forward Ryan Anderson and New Jersey Nets guard Anthony Morrow.

That’s an odd mix of players if you ask me.

Where’s the star power aside from Love? Last year’s festivities featured Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Durant, and this year Anthony Morrow is going to be there?

Aside from Chalmers, who ranks sixth (46 percent), none of the other participants rank in the top-20. Anderson is 22^nd (42 percent), Morrow is 26^th (42 percent), Love is 63^rd (36 percent), Johnson is 65^th (35 percent) and Jones would rank 36^th at 40 percent, but hasn’t registered enough attempts to qualify.  

They aren’t even the best statistically this season.  Where is the top five in three-point percentage? Brandon Rush (55 percent), Mike Miller (52 percent), Klay Thompson (50 percent), Ray Allen (49 percent) and Steve Novak (47 percent) are the statistical leaders, and all will be absent.

Then there are the specialists like J.J. Reddick and Kyle Korver that would have provided the most skill for a “skill” competition. It appears as if the NBA is trying to help the popularity of certain young players while giving the vets like Allen more rest.

The event is scheduled to take place on Saturday, Feb. 25^th at the Amway Center in Orlando, and it will be sandwiched between the skills challenge and the slam dunk contest.

In case you are new to the sport, here are the official rules provided by CBS Sports:

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The players will compete in the two-round competition with the top three finishers from the first round advancing to the finals. Five shooting stations will be set up around the three-point line, with four Official Spalding NBA game balls worth one point each and one Spalding NBA All-Star 2012 commemorative “money ball” worth two points at each location. Each player will have one minute to shoot as many balls as he can. In the final round, players will shoot in ascending order of first-round scores. At the discretion of the referee, television instant replay may be consulted for clarification of rules compliance.

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One of my personal favorites is that money ball. Nothing like watching the participants hoist a ball that looks more like a WNBA ball than one the NBA uses.