Knicks' Julius Randle, who is shooting 33.8 percent from 3, to participate in 3-point contest, per report

The All-Star forward will reportedly replace the Blazers' Anfernee Simons

New York Knicks forward Julius Randle will participate in the 3-point contest on Saturday in Salt Lake City, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania. He will reportedly replace Anfernee Simons of the Portland Trail Blazers, who hurt his ankle on Tuesday against the Washington Wizards. 

Randle is an All-Star, and he's having a career season. He hasn't missed a game, and he has scored even more efficiently than he did in 2020-21 when he made Second Team All-NBA. He's a surprising choice for this particular competition, though, because he's not shooting particularly well from 3-point range. 

Randle has attempted a ton of 3s this season -- 8.0 per game, easily a career-high -- but has made only 33.8 percent of them. He has shot 33.6 percent on catch-and-shoot 3s, 32.9 percent on pull-up 3s and 35.3 percent on wide-open 3s. As a point of comparison, Simons has attempted 9.2 3s per game and made 38.1 percent of them, including 39.9 percent of his catch-and-shoot 3s, 35.1 percent of his pull-up 3s and 46.3 percent of his wide-open 3s. 

In Saturday's shootout, Randle will compete against Damian Lillard, Jayson Tatum, Kevin Huerter, Tyler Herro, Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield and Lauri Markkanen. Among them, Tatum (35.7 percent) has the lowest 3-point percentage this season.