Good stretch for Ray Allen (knock on wood)

[tlee324]

If you look at Ray's games since the second Detroit game where he opened up with 25 points, Ray has enjoyed a strong stretch of basketball, and has produced well on both ends of the floor. He has received a ton of criticism for having the poor shooting stretch against Atlanta and Cleveland, but he is putting the ball back in the hoop and defending very well since. 41% from 3-pt range since game 1 vs. Detroit, and 42% overall while scoring double-digits and having some big games and huge shots along the way. I see nobody has really said much about it, and know there'd be dozens of threads if he weren't playing well, so hats off here to Ray and let's hope he can continue the excellent play.... I don't think it's a coincidence that the team has performed better since, either.

[Kefa461]

Proper point......

[Celtics_Champs]

Thank you!

It seems like their are more ray haters, then fans. If he has a bad game, fans will make ten threads on it. But if he has a good one, they are not seen.

I don't understand the hate, he is a role model in the locker room, and a great teammate.

[GuyClinch]

I've been a Ray fan I think for the most part. He was just slumping before. I think I have noticed two postives about Ray's play so far..

1) He really does dislike Kobe. As a result he thinks "less" about say missing shots and he just takes them (as he should). This can make him deadly out there.

2) There is a reason he has matched up so well against Kobe. I don't think Kobe enjoys fighting through screens. So while he is more athletic Kobe doesn't seem to defend Ray well.

[Tricky Ricky]

We should expect good stretches from Ray Ray, all he had was a slump and hes officially out

[nyhuskyfan]

His shooting percentage in the last four games would be a little better, too, if he didn't take some desperation shots at the end of quarters. Yesterday, he actually had a decent look at the end of the first but had to rush it a little. I think he's taken two shots from near midcourt in the last four games and another one while falling out of bounds near the sideline.

[MyInsatiableOne]

We should expect good stretches from Ray Ray, all he had was a slump and hes officially out

Exactly. He had a slump and the C's were able to stay alive until he broke out of it. Luckily it didn't cost them like it did in the 1985 Finals when Bird slumped. If Bird played his normal stats in that series, the Lakers never would have won.

[Athanacropolis]

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Exactly. He had a slump and the C's were able to stay alive until he broke out of it. Luckily it didn't cost them like it did in the 1985 Finals when Bird slumped. If Bird played his normal stats in that series, the Lakers never would have won.

Bird also injured himself in a barroom brawl. I don't expect Ray to do the same....

[MyInsatiableOne]

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Bird also injured himself in a barroom brawl. I don't expect Ray to do the same....

I don't think that was '85, though. '85 he had bursitis in his shooting elbow and it flared up badly in the Finals.

[Athanacropolis]

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I don't think that was '85, though. '85 he had bursitis in his shooting elbow and it flared up badly in the Finals.

From Basketbawful (and he used the Bird biography by Lee Daniel Devine, which I'm reading now, "Ever Green" by Shaugnessy, and "Drive" by Bird and Bob Ryan as references):

Larry was already struggling with existing back and elbow injuries when he showed up to Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals with a heavily bandaged right index finger (this, by the way, was the same finger that had been mangled in a college softball game before Larry's rookie season). The injury hadn't occurred in a game and nobody within the Celtics organization would comment on it. And while the press sort of left it alone until after the playoffs, it became a three-ring media circus over the summer (well, in Boston, anyway). The story ran in both the Boston Herald and the Boston Globe. And here are as many of the facts as may ever be known (since Larry himself has chosen to never publicly discuss it):

On May 16, 1985 -- the off-day between Games 2 and 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals -- Larry, Quinn Buckner and Larry's friend Nick Harris went to a Boston bar named Chelsea's. At some point in the evening, Larry got into a fight with a man named Mike Harlow (who was a bartender from a nearby bar named Little Rascals and a former college football player) in an alley next to Chelsea's. During fight, Larry knocked Harlow the hell out and injured his right index finger.

Now, there are two versions of why the fight took place. In version one, Larry's friend Harris had been beaten up by Harlow (allegedly for repeatedly hitting on Harlow's girlfriend) and Larry came to Harris' five-fingered rescue. In version two, Larry made the advances on Harlow's girlfriend and that was why the two men fought (although that story didn't explain why Harris got beaten up first).

Either way, Harlow was hurt badly enough (or pretended to be hurt badly enough) to be admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital after the fight. He then filed a lawsuit against Larry. But before it went to trial, and out-of-court settlement was reached (for somewhere between $15,000 and $21,000) and the documents were sealed.

The fact that this happened while Larry was hanging out with Harris wasn't a big surprise. According to the Boston Herald, Harris (then a 39-year-old used car salesman) had previously been convicted for selling drugs, fixing odometers, and "fraudulent bookkeeping." The Celtics didn't want Larry hanging out with his shady buddy, and they had even asked the Massachusetts State Police to run a background check on Harris (the Celtics denied this, although the state police confirmed it). It was also reported that the Celtics had specifically asked Larry to end his friendship with Harris and Larry refused (though both parties denied it), while Bird's agent, Bob Woolf, "literally begged" Larry's close friends to convince Larry to ditch Harris. Eventually, after the Finals, Larry did so.

So yeah, the Lakers played great and the Boston bench sucked. But it is also quite possible -- even probable -- that Larry Bird cost the Celtics the 1985 NBA championship.

[tlee324]

I've been a Ray fan I think for the most part. He was just slumping before. I think I have noticed two postives about Ray's play so far..

1) He really does dislike Kobe. As a result he thinks "less" about say missing shots and he just takes them (as he should). This can make him deadly out there.

2) There is a reason he has matched up so well against Kobe. I don't think Kobe enjoys fighting through screens. So while he is more athletic Kobe doesn't seem to defend Ray well.

This point is definitely pertinent to the Laker series, but it is a very good thing to see he was gaining a rhythm in the Detroit series prior. Hope he can carry this all the way for 2 more wins.

[daveisceltics]

Ray's one of the purest shooters in NBA history.
All the great shooters have slumps.
It was just an awful time to have one for Ray.

[ChrisWaher]

Hard thing about Ray is that he used to lead his team, but after the initial stretch it's clear that Pierce is not only more valuable than Ray, but when it comes to versatile performances, Pierce also challenges KG himself. Ray was being considered rising high to his peak last season (the guy scored one of the better averages of his career), so it had some effect, even though he is humble enough not to admit it. As such, confidence in self definitely caused some issues.

But he is mature enough to know how important and valuable he is, even if his ever so reliable shooting touch has stumbled in the playoffs, I don't expect him to fail in the finals should it come to that.

[dinoz]

Ray has more open space in this series and is taking advantage of that space. Ray does a good job on Kobe too. Good thing cause Posey just can't defend Kobe, and with Pierce dinged, you do not want to put PP on Kobe. Hats off to Ray. I hope he continues his solid play.

[RayAllen#34]

His shooting percentage in the last four games would be a little better, too, if he didn't take some desperation shots at the end of quarters. Yesterday, he actually had a decent look at the end of the first but had to rush it a little. I think he's taken two shots from near midcourt in the last four games and another one while falling out of bounds near the sideline.

He actually took 2 quarter ending shots in Game one alone, so that kind of hurt his percentage a bit, but its better for the team for him to be taking those 3 pointers than anyone else.

[tlee324]

The percentages aren't really THAT important, because as you guys are showing, they can be skewed if looked at too closely or depended upon too much for information. The reality of the situation is that Ray has become RELIABLE again for big shots and a consistent offensive option. That makes the team SO much better offensively. And he's picked it up defensively, not doing a bad job for the most part against Detroit and I don't think you can ask for more out of him in this Laker series so far.

[TreyAllen34]

its about time Ray gets some love on here, he's been playing solid

[I love heinsohn]

Yup, the Big 3 has regained its third member and that allows Rondo, Perk, and guys like Powe to really do their thing when the moment presents itself. Nice to have you back Ray!

[The Rondo Show]

Very worthy thread. Ray Allen has had one hell of an underrated/underhyped series. The talk of game 1 was all Pierce with some KG. Last night it was Powe and Pierce and rightfully so.

Ray Allen hasn't been talked about much at all (at least by the media) but he's been awesome. He's making Kobe work unbelievably hard at both ends, he's avoided putting Kobe at the line and hasn't fallen for his pump fakes and he's shooting the ball extremely well.

46% from the field (that includes end of the quarter forced shots that he missed, as others pointed out), 41.6% from 3, 82% from the line, 18 points per game and 5 boards per game. All of that while holding Kobe under 41% from the field and 27 points on 24.5 field goal attempts per game.

[Gomes3PC]

It's not so much about a rhythm per se with Allen, but a swagger. He has to get a gunner's mentality back, and facing the best has brought that back to him. Facing a guy like Rip Hamilton began to get his juices flowing again, and matching up against Kobe has turned that into a full out passion to be a top scorer.

I also think the knew about the criticisms being shouted after the first two rounds. A guy like Ray Allen is incredibly proud, and no doubt he put in the effort off the court to fix any mechanical flaws going on. It is OBVIOUS to me and almost anyone else that the good ole Ray Ray is back, since he has that unbelievably quick release back for three-pointers in the corners and on the wings.

Most importantly I think though, is that the Lakers are just not a tough defensive team and are a downright bad transition defense team. Ray gets a lot of points in uptempo games, and there is no physical, long guard who can push him around on LA for 40 minutes. Kobe might for 15-20, but he either switches off him to rest or just backs off him to complain to refs about some prior incident. Unlike Rip or Billups or even Wally/Pavlovich in the last two series, Vujacic and the other Lakers guards lack the tenacity to come off and double Ray hard and force him to give up the ball. Ray instead can pick his spots and find open holes in the defense to exploit.