Team Atlanta defeats Team Texas to win NBA Haier Shooting Stars competition
Team Atlanta beat defending champions Team Texas to win the Haier All-Star shooting competition on Saturday night at the Staples Centre.
Led by Atlanta Hawks’ Centre-Forward Al Horford, Atlanta managed an unlikely win, as Texas didn't hit any of their 17 attempts from the half-court before the one minute and twenty second time limit was reached in the final round.
First Round
The Atlanta team comprising of Al Horford, Atlanta Dream’s forward Coco Miller and NBA TV analyst Steve Smith opened the contest with a time of 47.6 seconds in the first round, as Al Horford knocked down a half court shot.
Team Chicago was the next to follow. The team comprising of Chicago Bulls’ second year forward Taj Gibson, Chicago Sky’s Cathrine Kraayeveld and five-time NBA champion and TV analyst Steve Kerr however, had a tough time making their shots. Steve Kerr was
finally able to net a half court shot with a time of one minute and six seconds.
Chicago was followed by the Los Angeles outfit, which consisted of Los Angeles Laker’s Pau Gasol, WNBA’s all time leading scorer Tina Thompson and TV analyst and three-time NBA champion Rick Fox. They too had their struggles but were able to eliminate Team
Chicago as Rick Fox made the half-court shot after 55.8 seconds.
Team Texas was next to follow suit. Comprising of the sharp-shooting sensation Dirk Nowitzki, the verbose TV analyst Kenny Smith and San Antonio Silver Stars' Roneeka Hodges, the defending champions eliminated Los Angeles with a time of 31.8 seconds. NBA
legend Kenny Smith made the team's first half court attempt, giving Team Texas the best time in the first round. `
At the end of the first round, Team Chicago and the home team Los Angeles were knocked out, allowing the Texas and Atlanta outfits to fight it out for the title.
Final Round
After finishing second in the first round, Atlanta had the first go. Coco Miller went 3-of-4 and Steve Smith shot 2-of-5 from the top of the key as Atlanta hit all their shots in a time of one minute and ten seconds. Al Horford then eventually hit the half
court shot on his 18th attempt as Atlanta laid down the challenge to Texas.
The heat of the moment however, got the better of Texas as they drained 17 straight half court shots, eventually running out of time to give Atlanta the win.
The Format
The main emphasis of this competition is to challenge the shooting skills of each outfit from various shooting positions on the court. The teams are free to select a specific player rotation to follow throughout the competition. Each team has to nail the
rim from six different positions of increasing difficulty. The team which makes all the shots in numeric order in the least possible time is declared the winner.
The shooting competition also has a few intricate conditions attached. During the rounds, a second player from the same team cannot start shooting until the first player has completed his attempt. The teams have a maximum of two minutes to complete the entire
shooting course. In the event of a tie after any of the rounds, a sudden death shoot-off is used to determine the winner.