Meeks misses out on 3-point contest

ORLANDO -- The field for the NBA's 3-point shooting contest has been set, and the Sixers' Jodie Meeks is not among the participants.

James Jones, of the Miami Heat, will defend his title against All-Stars Joe Johnson of the Atlanta Hawks and Kevin Love of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Ryan Anderson of the hometown Orlando Magic, Anthony Morrow of the New Jersey Nets, and Mario Chalmers of the Heat.

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 "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.

Meeks has made 58-of-134 from beyond the arc for 43.3 percent. That is a better percentage than everyone in the field by Chalmers.

"I'd be glad to be in it if they picked me," Meeks said yesterday. "For sure, I wouldn't think twice about it (as opposed to having a couple of days off). I would definitely be honored to come back here to Orlando to be in it."

Check out our earlier posts on Spencer Hawes likely missing time until after the All-Star break and how the Sixers plan on shutting down Dwight Howard tonight.