2011 NBA All-Star Weekend – NBA 3-Point Shootout Preview & Pick
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The Slam Dunk Contest is a staple of the NBA’s All-Star weekend – but so is the Three-Point Shootout. And the neat part about the three-point contest is that, while the dunk contest doesn’t always necessarily feature the game’s best dunkers, the three-point contest almost always pits the true top long-range shooters against each other.
After all, there’s no injury risk shooting treys, right?
Let’s look at the 2011 competitors and speculate on a winner.
Ray Allen
Three-Point Shootout odds: +200
It’s only too fitting to have Ray Allen competing in this year’s Three-Point Shootout just over a week after he broke Reggie Miller’s record for the most three-pointers in a career. Allen’s current mark of 45.6 per cent from beyond the arc would also shatter a career high if the season ended today. He has major three-point contest experience: he won it in 2000-01 and has competed five previous times.
James Jones
Three-Point Shootout odds: +300
Miami’s James Jones has been of the league’s deadliest long-range shooters for several seasons now, averaging 41.1 per cent or better from three-point range in three of his last four seasons. But he’s also new to this contest. Rubbing shoulders with the likes of Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Durant, could nerves get the better of Jones?
Kevin Durant
Three-Point Shootout odds: +350
Kevin Durant can drain treys when he gets on fire but the league’s leading scorer isn’t the purest shooter in this year’s field. He’s never participated in the Three-Point shootout before. He’s also shot better than 36.5 per cent from beyond the arc just once in four pro seasons.
Paul Pierce
Three-Point Shootout odds: +350
The defending champ and teammate of Allen will compete in his third career Three-Point Shootout – we think. Though his MRI this week came back negative, Pierce is battling a foot injury. Even if he decides to face Allen and company in the contest, do you want to pick a guy whose foot caused him to go 0 for 10 from the field last Sunday? 
Dorrell Wright
Three-Point Shootout odds: +350
Dorrell Wright may be my favorite sleeper of the bunch. For one, he leads the NBA in three-pointers made. Secondly, he has something to prove. His teammate, Stephen Curry, actually averages a higher three-point percentage and finished second to Pierce in last year’s contest yet wasn’t chosen to participate this year. Wright will want to prove that he’s the right Golden State representative.
Daniel Gibson
Three-Point Shootout odds: +400
Daniel Gibson definitely deserves a look. He has the second-highest three-point percentage of the field at 44.6 per cent and shot an outstanding 47.7 per cent last season. He’s also not a rookie in this contest after competing in 2007-08. But can we pick any Cleveland Cavalier to win anything this year? It feels wrong.
THE PICK
Wright is certainly an educated pick. But how can we possibly go against Ray Allen? It’s simply his year. He’s the most prolific three-point shooter in NBA history, he has the highest three-point shooting percentage in the field and he has more appearances in this contest than the other five competitors combined. The only possible reason to bet against Allen would be if Reggie Miller came out of retirement to battle him. Pick Jesus Shuttlesworth.
Three-Point Contest prediction: Ray Allen +200
