James Jones Eager for All-Star Shootout, Labor Talks

MIAMI -- Though he's a role player off the bench for the Miami Heat, James Jones will be quite a busy man at the All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles.

Not only has he become the fifth Heat player ever to be invited to participate in the Three-Point Shootout, he's also the treasurer and the secretary of the NBA Players Association and will be an important part of CBA labor negotiations.

After the Heat's 117-112 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night, Jones was looking forward to putting on a shooting display but was also optimistic there would be progress to avoid a potential lockout.

"I'm hopeful. I'm very excited," he said. "Being involved in the collective bargaining sessions is a privilege for me. Our sessions have been tough sessions. Not very much has been done, but I'm always hopeful that at some point in time eventually a true dialogue can start, and we can get on our road to figuring something out."

Jones graduated with a degree in finance from the University of Miami with a 3.41 GPA and as a member of the National Honor Society. He chose his major because of his love for numbers, so he's probably aware that he's already connected on 93 3-point field goals this season, surpassing his second highest single-season career total with 30 games left in the regular season.

He earned his spot in the shootout because of his 42.5 percent shooting (39.5 career) from 3-point range this season. In just the second game of the season, Jones already equaled his career high in 3-pointers made in one game with six.

Jones certainly sounded confident about his chances in the contest, even while noting he had never been in a shooting competition in any level of his basketball career.

"None of the racks are scary," he said. "You go up there and you shoot the ball. Evidently, within this system, I shoot a lot in the corners but every day when you're in the gym, you're shooting from all the spots. For me, it's just taking it one shot at a time, but you're not trying to rush through them because the shot that you rush and miss isn't worth anything. You're better off just taking your time and making every one that you shoot."

His team is certainly excited for him as well. Jones quickly dismissed any talk of having a lot to live up to since three of the four Heat players invited to the shootout have won (Daequan Cook in 2009, Jason Kapono in 2007 and Glen Rice in 1995). Nonetheless, LeBron James left little doubt great expectations would be placed on Jones to make a good showing for their team.

"Absolutely, he will have pressure," LeBron confirmed. "We haven't talked about it yet, but I've had a few teammates be a part of All-Star Weekend. He's a great shooter and we're looking forward to it."

With Mike Miller lost to injury, Jones stepped up and relished the role of shooting specialist with plenty of open looks playing next to the Big 3. His role on offense is so clearly defined, he's tried just one shot at the rim this season and attempted only 38 two-point field goals out of 257 total field-goal attempts. With a supporting cast put together to complement the star trio with an array of shooters, the Heat, as a result, rank in the top five in the league in three-point shooting percentage, precisely because of all those open looks they're enjoying.

"This team is tough," James said when asked if any of his teammates would be worthy competitors if they faced off in a shootout. "Eddie House is one of the streakiest and hottest shooters I've ever seen. Mike Miller is like a machine and he's really consistent. I'm just a streaky guy. You could throw in a guy like LeBron and D-Wade. They're scorers so they have the ability to just lay it on and make multiple shots.

"It's a very unique team because normally there's one guy that you'll (think) will be a tough battle, but here you have four or five guys."



(fanhouse.com)