NBA 3-Pt Shootout – Who’s the Man from Down Town

NBA All-Star Props Betting
HANDICAPPING THE THREE-POINT SHOOTOUT

There are few things as exciting as watching a three-pointer fly, and when a true artist is at work, that is certainly most exhilarating. Some of the best in the business will get together in Phoenix on Saturday for the Three-Point Shootout.

Here are the latest BetOnline Sportsbook odds:

To Win 2009 Three-Point Shootout:

Daequan Cook          +600

Danny Granger         +350

Jason Kapono           +185

Mike Bibby                 +350

Rashard Lewis          +350

Roger Mason             +600

There are a lot of guys who can shoot three-pointers. There are so many in fact that I am surprised there are a couple of guys who have won this event three times in a row. Larry Bird, who took the title from 1986 to 1988, and Craig Hodges, now an assistant with the Lakers, who was the champion in 1991, ’92 and ’93 while four other players have won it twice.

Jason Kapono, who has won the Three-Point Shootout for two consecutive years, has been the NBA’s best percentage shooter from behind the three-point arc before, with a career-best of 51.4% for the Heat a couple of seasons ago. This year he is 42.2% accurate, which will probably give him more incentive than ever to go out and win this contest.

Some of the other guys in this competition are scary, I will grant you. Rashard Lewis and Danny Granger are in the main event – the All-Star Game itself. Roger Mason, who has emerged as a key role player for San Antonio, is 45% from the arc, which is the highest in this field, and I guess he plays a little more than teammate Matt Bonner, who is a 49% shooter from three-point range, so he got the nod.

Lewis has more three-pointers than anyone here, which is amazing for a guy 6’10" tall. When I was growing up, few guys that tall could even get up and down the court, much less shoot from long-range (I guess I’m leaving out Mel Counts). Kapono has less three-pointers made (52) than anyone who is competing on Saturday night.

All of these guys can shoot threes better than the others on any given day. This format is a little different. It’s a routine.

There are five shooting stations in this competition, and you’re on the clock. There is little room for creativity like there is in the slam dunk contest. There is no such thing as getting yourself open or creating your own shot, because there’s nobody there guarding you. It’s just a race against time.

Shooting threes is a skill. Mastering this format is another. Kapono happens to be a master of this format. Getting him at +185 is, I think, a bargain. Put his name up there with Bird and Hodges on that Three-Point Wall of Fame.

JAY’S PLAY: KAPONO +185 ***
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

(Charles Jay makes one shot after another from downtown as a contributor to the BetOnline Locker Room)