WEEI article about Ray Allen

Hi folks. Been gone for a while. When I'm traveling my access is limited to public computers, so it's not easy for me to contribute.

Here's a nice read about how Ray Allen is worth so much more than just a dead-eye shooter and money freethrow shooter. The first link is to the WEEI opinion of the original analysis on celticshub.com. It warms you up for the main act. The second link is to the article itself.

http://greenstreet.weei.com/sports/boston/basketball/celtics/2010/01/06/ray-allens-mystical-ability/

http://celticshub.com/2010/01/06/ray-allen-and-the-mysteries-of-making-other-players-better/#more-5196


Enjoy!!

bob

Thanks for the info Bob, as you well know, I am the biggest Ray fan on the board!!!! He will retire in green, there is no doubt in my mind! I have been
telling people for a long time that Ray has become so versatile and his defensive skills have improved dramatically.

Anyway, Thanks again for these two articles. I loved reading them!

Rosalie

rosie t

your man was the real deal last nite

Rosalie,

I guess that makes me RA's second biggest fan on the board. Just think about our team without him in the lineup and you don't have all these wins we have.

Bob,

Thanks for the good read. It's just spot on.

Hoop

What this article highlights are some of the subtleties of good b-ball, and how it's not "all about the individual player stats".

Ray Allen fans (I mean the real ones, not just the ones who sing his praises when he's shooting well) see this. That includes all of you.

Living on the Left Coast, I got to see Ray play for Seattle for years. When the trade, on draft day, was announced I was dancing. I logged onto BDC and saw people were all down on him and I leaped into the fray to defend the trade. I like Delonte, didn't want to see him go, and knew that giving up a #5 would hurt some (mitigated somewhat by shedding Wally and his contract), but I had Ray figured out and was estatic he was going to be in green.

And that was before it became known that adding Ray would be the final piece needed to get KG to agree to a trade to Boston.

At a time we have idiots flashing guns and prima donnas demanding trades because they're not getting enough playing time or aren't being allowed to play b-ball "their way", Ray Allen is a personal and professional role model. He's a gentleman on and off the court and his work ethic is one that our young players can hook their future stars to.

bob

bobheckler wrote:Ray Allen is a personal and professional role model. He's a gentleman on and off the court and his work ethic is one that our young players can hook their future stars to.

This says it perfectly. Living on the West Coast, I too have had the privilege of seeing Ray even though he was stuck in a basketball backwater, which is what the Sonics had become. Even though the Sonics were usually lousy, I still enjoyed watching Ray, and I enjoyed even more getting someone else who didn't know him to watch him so I could point out all the little things he does. A true pleasure to watch. Be glad you have him.

Outside

His ball handling aint the greatest but he has a tremendous floor game and is extremely unselfish. He is just a winner. My guess is he constantly works to hold the team as together as they are and is a tremendous bridge builder between the yungbloods and known hardass KG. Plus you just never see the guy complain. And he dont complain with his body language or his eyes either. forever with his shoulders square and his chin up. Just a stone warrior.

And when it mattered most in game 4 agin the Lakes he broke Sasha forever or as dj says 'went all veteran on him" with that wicked crossover. That play was epic. He was money in the clutch last nite as well.

I love the guy. I really hope we can work it to keep him.

Watch closely this year at the way Ray is playing. Watch his on court relationship with Perk. It seems as if they have worked together on plays that have become extremely successful. I can't imagine any of the young guys not appreciating him for what he is. There isn't alot of flash there (and yes, my heart was in my mouth last night when he put that ball on the floor against Wade. Everyone knew they would never call a foul on Wade in that situation).
I am sure he thanked Rondo later for taking the monkey off his back!!

Bob,

Good to hear from you. I hope all is going well.

The Celtics hub writer obviously put a lot of thought into his work, but I'm one of those who tends to throw the reams of stats aside and trust what I see during the games.

I'll replace those charts with three statements;

- I like Ray Allen.

- I like having Ray Allen on the Celtics.

- Ray Allen is still among the best the game has to offer.

My old statistics professor would have said I wasn't that great with all those numbers anyway.

Regards

Is what I would say to those who would want to ship RA out this year or next. He has lost some game with age like everyone else has but he still has the ability to be effective in critical moments in a game. I don't think that his decline is a quick one and unless he becomes unreasonable about what he asks for, I'd try hard to get him back for a few more years. I think he is a real positive influence on the team as a whole.

LACELTFAN wrote:Is what I would say to those who would want to ship RA out this year or next. He has lost some game with age like everyone else has but he still has the ability to be effective in critical moments in a game. I don't think that his decline is a quick one and unless he becomes unreasonable about what he asks for, I'd try hard to get him back for a few more years. I think he is a real positive influence on the team as a whole.

laceltsfan,

Do I want Ray back? Absolutely!!

Do I want Ray back for a few more years? No. One year at a time. At most two. Guard play is heavily influenced by speed (theirs and the guys who are trying to break their ankles) and that's what goes. Look at Derek Fisher this year. MUCH slower and less effective than last year and he's less than one year older than Ray.

There was a thread that addressed the question of "Do Bigs outlast Smalls". The clear answer was YES. That doesn't mean there aren't exceptions. Stockton played until he was 40 and still had most of his game left at the end, but he's an exception. It looks like once they get to around 35-36, they start dropping like flies in the noonday sun.

The upside is that Ray, being the consummate professional that he is, might be ok with becoming a bench player and becoming the leader of the second unit when the day comes that he clearly can't cut it for 30+ minutes anymore.

bob

I also want Ray back, but would prefer they not sign him for more than two years. I'd actually really like to see Ray coming off the bench. It's not because I don't think he can still start, he obviously can, I just think he would be more valuable as a bench catalyst. Ideally it would be nice if he could take a significant enough pay cut that we could sign another starting SG. Would that work, or would we still be over the cap and unable to sign new players? This salary cap stuff ruins all my fantasies...