NBA 3-Point Contest Preview: Field of Participants, Start Time, TV, and Poll

I competed in a three-point contest in middle school, and I can tell you one thing: it’s not easy.

It’s one thing to catch a ball in rhythm in a game and knock down an open 3, but to shoot that shot over and over, awkwardly picking a ball up off a rack, is a little different. Like a game, it’s all about getting into a rhythm and relying on the muscle memory for all 25 shots.

That being said, the guys that are in the NBA 3-point shoot-out are a little bit better of shooters than I was when I was 13.

This year’s field is an interesting mix of veterans and young guys, and not all of them are your prototypical swing-man knock down shooters.

Here’s a little bit more on the information for tonight’s contest and some information on the guys in the field:

2012 Three-Point Contest Info

• Start Time: 8:30 ET (Third event of the night)
• TV: TNT
• Location: Orlando, Florida
• Title Sponsor: Foot Locker
• Official Website: http://www.nba.com/allstar/2012/3point/index.html
• Event history and list of winners: http://www.nba.com/2012/allstar/2012/02/15/three-point-contest/index.html

2012 3-Point Contest Field of Particiapnts

As I lamented earlier this week in a post, the fields for the 3-Point Contest and Dunk Contest could be much more compelling. I presented my ideal field for both the 3-point contest and the slam dunk contest. (You can also read Jerod’s preview of the dunk contest, with some pretty sweet video too.)

Here is the field for this year’s 3-point contest, which is not an ideal list of participants, but still intriguing nonetheless.

Ryan Anderson

• Orlando Magic
• Power forward
• 6-10, 23 years old
• 2008 1st-round draft pick out of Cal
• 99 of 228 from 3 for the season (43.4%)
• 39.2% from 3 for career
• First appearance

Mario Chalmers

• Miami Heat
• Point guard
• 6-2, 25 years old
• 2008 2nd-round pick out of Kansas
• 68 of 149 from 3 this season (45.6%)
• 36.7% career from 3
• First appearance

James Jones

• Miami Heat
• Small forward
• 6-8, 31 years old
• 2003 2nd-round pick out of Miami (FL)
• 21 of 50 from 3 this season (42.0%)
• 40.3% career from 3
• Second appearance, defending champion

Anthony Morrow

• New Jersey Nets
• Shooting guard
• 6-5, 26 years old
• Undrafted out of Georgia Tech
• 63 of 169 from 3 this season (40.2%)
• 43.9% career from 3
• First appearance

Kevin Love

• Minnesota Timberwolves
• Power forward
• 6-10, 23 years old
• 2008 1st-round pick out of UCLA
• 49 of 141 from 3 this season (34.8%)
• 36.5% career from 3
• First appearance

Kevin Durant

• Oklahoma City Thunder
• Small forward
• 6-9, 23 years old
• 2007 1st-round pick out of Texas
• 58 of 159 from 3 this season (36.5%)
• 35.8% career from 3
• Second appearance (2011)
• Replaces injured Joe Johnson (Atlanta)

There’s not a lot of three-point contest experience in this year’s field, but that’s not to say these aren’t knock down shooters. My pick is the hometown favorite, Ryan Anderson.

Who do you got?

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