Is Ray Selfish

[Duganov 34 5 20]

Please don't kill me, I just want to hear your opinion.
That last play by Ray when he went to the hoop he had Posey wide open and he didn't pass the ball. But what bothers me even more is that when Powe got the game winner, all Ray did was screaming at the ref with an unhappy face instead of celebrating that his teammate got the game winner. Also you can see that Posey was pretty unhappy too.
Ray doesn't pass the ball a lot, I know he is one of the best shooters in the game, but he took like 8 jumpers in the row and missed like all of them and still didn't want to pass the ball.
They would never call a foul on that kind of play because it was like 3 seconds left and it was in Minny. They don't want the visiting team to win the game on the line.

What do u guys think?

[BobbySura]

i dont think he's selfish, he's just been in an incredible slump and i think it's really starting to bother him.

[sarah42]

where was the time to pass? i think the reason why he was angry was that he was hit hard...i mean hard.

i don't think he realized powe hit the game winner, it took him a while to recognize, to recover.

i see that a lot.

just a few weeks ago, i was watching a hornets/suns game in phoenix, and tyson chandler was totally mugged by amare, no call, both he and amare stared at each other, tyson yelled at the ref..

and mo peterson all alone found the ball and hit a layup over both of them. tyson was still mad, but mo scored to build the lead.

it happens a lot.

[GoGoCeltics]

Posey wasn't "wide open" - there was a defender between them who was sagging off Ray. He also had his right hand driving hard to the hoop, and was fouled going up. Ray is a prime-time scorer, Posey is not. He did the right thing.

[cdubbz]

Yeah I was wondering the same thing. Ray had plenty of time to pass to posey on the break and i couldnt believe he kept it.

From an outsiders perspective...to me it seems Allens not fitting into boston too well offensively. Sure hes getting shots, but i think he feels he needs to be more of a min threat.

[sarah42]

his ankle is still healing and thats why his shot isn't as great as it once was.

what i noticed this past few games is he is getting his leaping ability back. i've seen him dunk a little more. so it looks like he's getting better.

there really wasn't any time to pass imo. if he did, it could have been picked. he had a clear path to the hoop. why pass it when so close and the game so tight?

he's obviously taking way less shots this year than kg and pp have, so that really doesn't help people's idea that he is selfish.

he is flat out missing easy layups, probably caused by some pain - whenever players miss easy shots like that, and are also jump shooters, look for the percentage to fall a lot!

[GregB]

I definitely give ray the benefit of the doubt. As much as I love Posey. He isnt exactly the most graceful finishing at the hoop.

Also, The defender didnt to ray leaving posey open. He was sagging off enough to still make a play on posey.

If anything Ray should have drove to the hoop and passed behind him but with such little time left I would have went for the layup. Hoping to either score or get fouled which he was.

[celtxman]

It was a very interesting play to analyze all around. First there was time, but not a lot, to get the ball to Posey, but I agree with Allen's decision to keep the ball. Had the pass been a little off, Posey fumbled the ball, or Jaric recovered if the timing of the pass was off, they may not have scored.
Second - was it a foul? I believe that there was definite contact that aided Jaric to later get his hand on the ball - FOUL. Yet in the postgame both Gary Tanguay and Ryan Rusillo very casually said it was not a foul.
Third - Allen's reaction. I did not like the scowl on his face after the Celtics had won. I don't buy this notion of not realizing what happened around him after Powe scored. Yet I have mixed feelings, because this was a nationally televised game and at some point (like with Doc River's technical) and plays like this, sometimes you really need to let everybody know you were wronged....not for this game but the next one. The Pistons get away with murder by whining and scowling on every call against them and it clearly has a residual positive effect for them. This was not Allen's motivation, but it may help. And Allen did recover nicely when the national microphone was thrust in his face quickly after the game

[BigHands]

Please don't kill me, I just want to hear your opinion.
That last play by Ray when he went to the hoop he had Posey wide open and he didn't pass the ball. But what bothers me even more is that when Powe got the game winner, all Ray did was screaming at the ref with an unhappy face instead of celebrating that his teammate got the game winner. Also you can see that Posey was pretty unhappy too.
Ray doesn't pass the ball a lot, I know he is one of the best shooters in the game, but he took like 8 jumpers in the row and missed like all of them and still didn't want to pass the ball.
They would never call a foul on that kind of play because it was like 3 seconds left and it was in Minny. They don't want the visiting team to win the game on the line.

What do u guys think?

Ray had a line to the hoop. There is no better shot than a layup, a dunk, or a foul.

Home cooking by the refs was overturned by Leon's hustle.

[YUKES]

this is also a case of needing to give jaric credit for a good defensive play. he knew there wasn't much time, did the perfect amount of sagging off of ray to make a pass not look like a good option while still being close enough to make a play, and knew that he was on the home team in the final seconds of a game, where the refs pretty much swallow their whistle in every game, not just this one. how many real close games are ever decided by free throws?? especially favorably for the road team?? it's an advantage every home team in the league has, including the celtics 41 times a season. i think it was all pretty heads up by jaric all around.

[Matt34520]

Ray Allen is not selfish. All players at one time or another may appear selfish, but most arn't.

[Jammer]

1. Ray got fouled. He deserved a call.

2. There were mere seconds left. Ray is quicker at getting to the rim, and finishing, than James. Ray made the right decision.

3. Powe did his job and followed the break man (after the steal) to clean up.

4. The officials blew a call on Ray. He was fouled in the act of shooting.

[Leesdoinit]

Duganov 34 5 20 wrote:
Please don't kill me, I just want to hear your opinion.
That last play by Ray when he went to the hoop he had Posey wide open and he didn't pass the ball. But what bothers me even more is that when Powe got the game winner, all Ray did was screaming at the ref with an unhappy face instead of celebrating that his teammate got the game winner. Also you can see that Posey was pretty unhappy too.
Ray doesn't pass the ball a lot, I know he is one of the best shooters in the game, but he took like 8 jumpers in the row and missed like all of them and still didn't want to pass the ball.
They would never call a foul on that kind of play because it was like 3 seconds left and it was in Minny. They don't want the visiting team to win the game on the line.

What do u guys think?



Ray did exactly what he should have when he surveyed the floor on the break. He decicded to not pass the ball because he knew if didnt get to the rim he was going to put himself in a position to get to the line. Now who would you prefer to go to the line assuming he had Passed to Powe?

Ray at the line with a split second left or Powe? If it was one of our better free throw shooters open on the wing I believe he would have made the pass if needed. [/quote]

[canman1971]

The only time Posey was open was when Ray first got the ball, and giving Posey the all at half court was not a good option. There were seconds left. Ray did what he was supposed to. Drive to the hoop and get a layup and/or fould call. He got fouled, and no call, but in any case, you will more likely have someone there to clean it up on a 2 on 1 break, which Powe did. Ray is one of, if not the, most classiest guys in the NBA. No need for this. Talk about complaining for the sake of complaining.

[ParticleMan]

You really don't want to pass the ball in that situation if you can avoid it. Lots of things can go wrong, a deflection, a fumble, anything. With seconds left you have to get a shot up. Ray made the smart play. And yes, he was fouled hard. I know the refs had been swallowing the whistle all night (like Pierce's non-call), and it was in Minny and all, but that was ridiculous. People say refs shouldn't decide the game, but when you let a guy get away with raking a player going to the hoop, to not make a call IS deciding the game. A foul is a foul. Luckily Powe was there so it's all a moot point.

[vegas_runnin_rebel]

Ray made the right play.

Ideally, the defender commits and tries to take away the drive or the pass and makes the decision for you on the break. In this instance, the defender didn't quite commit to either option (but it can be argued he was playing the pass more than the drive) and a pass by Allen would have been very risky. The bottom line is that no matter how closely you inspect the play, Ray ended up with a clear driving lane to the basket. You can't ask for more than that.

On a side note, Larry Bird was the MASTER at breaking up 2 on 1's on the defensive end. He'd commit just enough to stopping the drive and then display cat like reflexes and break up the pass at the last second.

[Rocky5000]

I think Ray made a good enough play. If he hadn't been hit so hard he'd have had a layup. At first, I didn't even realize that Powe had hit the game winner because I was so mad at the ref for not blowing the whistle.

[The Rondo Show]

I had no problem with how Ray played that fastbreak and don't have a problem with how often he passes, but I noticed the same thing you did about him going over to the refs and complaining with a disgusted look on his face while the rest of the Celtics were hugging and celebrating with Powe.

I had a bit of a problem with that, but I'll get over it and all guys have moments where they act a little selfish whether it's by not passing the ball enough or complaining to the ref because you wanted to be able to hit game winning free throws instead of having Powe get a game winning layup.

[JiriMania]

All great scorers are selfish.

Ray is a GREAT scorer.

[bceltic55]

Ray is nor selfish, he made the right play. Why do we examine every little thing any of our players do and look for something bad.