Miami Heat guard Wayne Ellington is headed to All-Star Weekend.
Credit given where credit is due.
Despite the Miami Heat sitting fourth in the Eastern Conference, the team was neglected to garner an All-Star selection ahead of the exhibition next month. The Heat will however be represented in the 3-Point Contest by Wayne Ellington, who was extended an invitation.
Can confirm that Heat guard Wayne Ellington has accepted a spot in the 3-point contest at the All-Star Game.
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) January 25, 2018
Miami’s first selection for the contest since 2016 (Chris Bosh) but the first to compete since 2012 via Mario Chalmers and James Jones, Ellington’s victory would place him among a group of elite Heat shooters, including Jones, Jason Kapono, Daequon Cook and Glen Rice.
As the contest date of February 17 closes in, here’s a look at how Ellington stacks up to his potential competitors.
146
The “Man With The Golden Arm” has knocked in 146 triples this season. Sitting behind James Harden and Klay Thompson who have hit 162 and 161 respectively, Ellington shares the third spot with another top-tier name: Steph Curry.
For some perspective, at this point of the season last year, Ellington’s 146 makes from downtown would have been good for first in the league, surpassing Curry’s 145 hits by January 26, 2017. Ellington also sits ahead of last year’s champ Eric Gordon, whose 140 3-point makes slot him at fifth in the league.
40.8
Efficiency is the name of the game for shooters in the Association, and Ellington is no slouch on that front either. Among players who have attempted at least 250 treys this year, Ellington ranks ninth; bump the qualifier to a minimum of 300 attempts and Ellington’s 40.8 percent is good for fourth.
The company is much the same in the percentage conversation with Curry and Thompson taking the top two spots, but Paul George’s 41.7 percent over 331 attempts lands him a shade over Ellington for third.
1246
On that same efficiency tip, Ellington is making his shooting minutes count when he hits the hardwood. Among those 17 players to attempt a minimum of 300 triples this season, Ellington is 16th in minutes played, ahead of only Curry’s 1121 minute on the court.
Starting the season with a mix of garbage time and bench rotations, Ellington’s role exploded in Miami when the guard regularly began to toss in buckets from deep. In the last 10 games, Ellington has played 30 minutes or more nine times, a mark he didn’t hit until the 11th game of the season.
As Miami continues to craft and perfect its identity in the Eastern Conference, Ellington’s participation in 3-Point Contest comes at a much-needed juncture. After starting the month of January on a spicy seven-game win streak, the Heat have been dowsed, with unfortunate losses to the Sacramento Kings and Brooklyn Nets.
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Sending Ellington to represent Miami in Los Angeles could be the galvanizing event to spark an upward trend for Miami’s end of the season.