vegas_runnin_rebel wrote:Why are you getting so worked up about his salary? He's still an incredibly productive player and he won't be on the books for much longer. And how exactly do you determine how much money a player deserves based on his role on the team? If the Celtics had traded for Michael Redd instead of Ray Allen, would you still be complaining about paying the third option on offense max money?
It's not that I am so worked about the Celtics paying that kind of money; I get worked up about them paying that kind of money for that kind of performance when the money could be better spent. And yes, I realize that Ray isn't on the books for much longer. I would argue, coming straight from a Championship, his value will not be any higher until close to the trading deadline of 2009-10. I think there are a myriad of deals involving Ray Allen that could be done which would make the Celtics a better team. And frankly, that is all I care about.
vegas_runnin_rebel wrote:As far as your critique of Ray's game goes, you're way off base.
That all comes down to a matter of opinion, though, right?
vegas_runnin_rebel wrote:-His "off-the-ball floor awareness" is excellent. He uses screens exceptionally well, and he has a strong sense of spacing.
You honestly think Ray has a strong sense of spacing? I just can't see it. I see a player looking for soft spots in the defense to find his own shots. For instance, when Ray isn't involved in the play, he often disrupts the flow because of his penchant for poor space discipline. No, Ray tries to get open and therein lies the rub. The main benefit of a floor spreader is that he draws his man away from the ball. Ray knows how to get open for Ray; I don't think he knows how to provide space for teammates.
Another example is when Ray is feeding the post from the foul-line extended all the way to the corner. He hesitates. He allows his man to collapse on the post before realizing, "Gee, maybe I should move." Now, how is that space discipline and showing good off the ball awareness?
vegas_runnin_rebel wrote:-Paul Pierce went from being an above average defender to a GREAT defender last season. Ray Allen went from being a poor defender to an average defender. He doesn't have the size to guard a guy like Joe Johnson...But other than that, he can be trusted to hold his own defensively against most 2's. I'm not a big fan of PER stats, but he comes out quite well defensively. Bottom line, the effort is most certainly there, and the Celtics team defense has his back if and when things break down. Anyway that you look at it, he's no longer a piss poor defender.
To be honest, I was surprised at how well Ray defended last year. I really was. It doesn't dismiss the fact that he is a weak link defensively. I would be fine with his defense, too, if he was playing to his role on offense. I don't believe he is.
vegas_runnin_rebel wrote:-It's a little odd that Ray never looks to drive to the hoop when he's initiating the pick and roll game, but at least he runs them in a manner that gets a wide open shot for KG. If the coaches didn't like the way he runs his two man game, I'm sure they'd have put a stop to it by now.
My theory is that Doc uses Ray as the point man in the pick game, at times, to get Ray going offensively. The problem arises when he dribbles aimlessly for 12 seconds before getting a Ray shot. Or that he has a tendency to completely ignore the picker when they make a dive to the front of the tin. Really, if I am an opposing team, I make sure the ball gets in Ray Allen's hands, I put a decent defender with length on him and I pack the lane. The ball in Ray's hands means it's not in Rondo's, KG's or Pierce's.
Additionally, in playing Ray as the point man in the pick game, because of Ray's tendencies, the Celtics are playing essentially 3-on-5 at the offensive end. Rajon is a better distributor and he sets up teammates for easy baskets. You are playing to Rajon's weaknesses by asking him to play off the ball. Also, by totally ignoring Powe, Perkins and even Big Burger when they release from the pick, Ray has essentially removed them from the game on the offensive end of the floor.
vegas_runnin_rebel wrote:-The only problem with his catch and shoot game is that he doesn't take enough of them inside the 3-point line. Last year he shot 50 percent on long 2-pointers, making him one of just 10 players with at least 100 attempts to hit half his shots from that range.
See, I think this comes down to perspective. Ray is all-time elite at coming off picks in catch-and-shoot situations. He is not an elite catch-and-shoot player off the spot up. The inference here is that Ray is involved as part of the play in the first instance and, in the second, when asked to play completely off the ball and to provide space, he is just average.
Another thing, which I didn't mention, is that traditionally Paul Pierce is a money player operating at the top of the key on the left hand side. Last season and for the early part of this year, Ray Allen has taken the majority of his shots from .... the left side. One of the reasons for Pierce's struggles with shooting the ball at times is the **** that occurs with Ray floating around on the left side instead of drawing his man away from Pierce. What it amounts to, imo, is that Ray is playing passive aggressively. It is like he is too stubborn to subjugate himself for the betterment of the team. I don't think Ray is intentionally trying to subvert Pierce or anything.
I just think that Ray is a bit set in his ways and unable to consistently play off the ball when the ball isn't in his hands. He tends to gravitate to the same spots on the floor, whether he was playing with Posey, Pierce or Tony Allen. If you look at the NBA historically, it happens to tons of scorers, especially those that shoot from range. Ray has the talent to be much better in this role but for whatever reason is unable to adapt his game to fit the Celtics best needs, imo.
Now, if Ray was playing in the same manner as Eddie House, as a pure catch-and-shoot guy, and then allow him to open it up when Pierce and Garnett are off the floor, that would be cool with me. I just don't see that happening.
vegas_runnin_rebel wrote:The one aspect of Ray's game that has been awful since he arrived in Boston is when the Celtics get out and run. For such a heady player, and a guy who is capable of making some great passes, he's absolutey terrible on the break. He's a turnover waiting to happen on 3 on 2's and 2 on 1's.
While I tend to agree, I think that is team wide problem, to an extent. I think they need to get the ball in the hands of Rajon and, if he ever plays, Pruitt.
vegas_runnin_rebel wrote:You wrote earlier that the Celtics won last year in spite of Ray Allen. What they really proved is that they're capabale of winning when he doesn't play well. Of course that can also be said of Paul Pierce and KG. And therein lies the beauty of the big 3. You have 3 players who are capable of winning a game for you on any given night. All 3 players are explosive enough to beat you on their own, and if more than one of them comes to play on the same night, look out.
I certainly respect this viewpoint and, in fact, it was the perspective I embraced when envisioning the trio during the summer and when they first suited up in Rome. In the early going to the season, when the C's came out like gangbusters, Ray was indeed playing as a more traditional off the ball threat. After he started to struggle (I believe it was sometime around December, I will check later), he started to revert to look-for-his-own-shot Ray. It was then that I started to realize that the offense (as compared to what one should have reasonably expected, given the personnel) was severely under-performing and Ray was a big reason why.
The reason the Celtics achieved what they did was because of an all-time great defensive performance (as compared to it's peers.) They were an elite defensive team that struggled offensively, at times. Sure, all teams tend to struggle. How is it that with all the offensive firepower the Celtics possessed, they only had the 9th ranked offense? Do you know, there has only been one team since 1980 that won a title with an offense that ranked outside of the top-10. That team was the 2004 Pistons, who, like the Celtics, had an elite defense. And to be honest, that Pistons team was just hitting it's stride when the playoffs arrived because of the deadline deal for Sheed.
Moral of the story? Elite offense usually trumps elite defense. Really, you need both. Those playoff scares last year shouldn't have been a surprise to anyone. Sure, the Celtics had a great defense. They almost missed the brass ring, a couple times, because of an offense that tends to sputter when ball is taken out of the hands of the playmakers (Rondo, KG and Pierce.)
vegas_runnin_rebel wrote:Do you actually doubt that Ray can carry the team when PP or KG don't have it going?
I don't doubt that Ray Allen is a talented scorer. I doubt that he can make his teammates better by consistently providing space. I just don't have faith in his ability to play off the ball if he is not involved.
