Why Did Ray Play 38 Minutes Tonight?

With both Eddie and Daniels available to play the 2, why would Ray play 38 minutes on the second night of a back to back in a 30 point win when he played 42 last night?

Maybe I'm nitpicking, but I'd like to see him fresh in May and June.

Bob c

The kid's in shape. Don't sweat it. Doc is playin.

Jeb

Bob,

I hope you don't mind if I move your thread over to the Hot Topics forum? It may get noticed a little more there.

gyso

No real reason for Ray to have logged over 40 min. in game 1 and 38 min in a back-2-back game 2 situation. This game was decided shortly after halftime. Ray should have gotten much more rest. C'mon Doc! Watch his minutes, Please!-MD.

Bob

It appears it could be nothing more than Rays shooting is off and Doc gave him some extra minutes to try and work thru it a bit. They were easy minutes too and not like he had to work hard on defense.

He'd hit some nice open looks and just when he appeared to be comming on he'd miss a couple.

I'm sure Doc is aware (I hope) of these minutes. 38 in a 25+ point blowout is certainly questionable but again he didn't need to work real hard out there. The Bobcats couldn't have hit water if they fell out of a boat. Heck I think you and I could have guarded them last night.

beat

Couldn't have hit water if they fell out of a boat!-(LOL)-That's comical!-I bet they couldn't have drawn air either if they tried to take in a breath. The C's "D" was so stiffling!-MD.

This is a non issue. Ray Allen played very average minutes in the pre-season and never seemed to really get into the offense. I am sure Doc wanted to get him on the court more, get his stroke going, and try out different combinations.

If this it the only thing you guys can complain about after 2 games – guess things are going pretty well.

MD

if this was 15-20 games in and the second of a back to back I would be questioning it even if Rays was struggling. I think the Celts D was OK but the Bobcats inability to walk and chew gum made it look perhaps a bit better. 6 of one 1/2 dozen of the other.

Cats couldn't even make their fouls shots to any degree.
Larry Brown must be pulling his hair out. (whats left) Probably hopes that they get to play Cleveland soon so they can get a win.

Hard game to look at stats but the one that stands out to me is all the assists we had 28 on 33 made field goals. It could have even been better if we had shot well. Perhaps a few to many three attempts.

beat

Beat

Is that you pitching and playing ball in avatar?

Jeb

Jeb

That's my son, Marcus.
Freshman in HS
Plays hoops and baseball. Over the past couple years I've reported his progress on BDC and now i'll chime in from time to time here too.
He's 14 1/2 years old 6' 1/2" and about 185 pounds.

I PM'd Sam yesterday about him. We still have a bit of a concern. Monday he hurt his knee in hoops practice. Took a charge ala Big Baby, and got knocked on his can. When he went to get up he couldn't. To make it short the MRI and X ray indicated nothing wrong and he can put weight on it now with no pain. It's a little better today and he can flex it with minor discomfort. So we'll see how it goes.

Not a bad basketball player but his main sport is baseball, the photo is from the JV season last year when he was in 8th grade. Had a 4-1 record and an ERA just over 3. Led the team at the plate in many stats too. Throws pretty hard, has a couple pitches with decent control.

Marcus attended 2 of the board gatherings and has met Sam and many of the other regulars on here. As Bob Heckler points out, he has a fan club from coast to coast. He's a bit under the weather today, home with a fever.

Thanks for asking

beat

Beat

Sounds like he is real good sized for his age. Is he a fellow Celtics freak? What a great feeling that must be to watch him play.

I bet his knee will be ok. If you bang knees it can really put the hurt on you. Thanks for explaining.

Jeb

Oh yeah he's a Celtic fan
He was yelling at the TV when Bron had those two blocks the other night and esp. the one when Rondo got knocked on his butt.

Nervous dad to a point, but I think I got over that finally.

One thing I forgot to mention besides being a good athelete he's even a better student. 96.4 average in school so far this year.
And he's a good kid too, never a problem (well almost)

beat

Beat

That must make yall GLOW. How is their hoop squad? What pos does he play?

I thought James killed Rondo with his body. Rondo looks really good to me this year.

Jeb

Bobc, I hear you on Ray's minutes. I don't think it's an issue right now, but I just hope this isn't a trend that will continue. I realize he's in fine physical condition, but he's 34 and he has a lot of miles on his body. I'd prefer to see him rest in blowouts. He's gonna need those legs down the stretch. Like others have said, I'm just hoping they were trying to let him find his rhythm and going forward his minutes will be more in line with the rest of the Big Three.

I wouldn't call it "nitpicking", just expressing concern. It's certainly not even close to panic time, but I think it's a legitimate topic to discuss.

I subscribe to the theory that Doc was giving Ray extra time in hopes Ray would find a way out of the little shooting slump he's been in. I think it's something to watch, though, and I mentioned it on the post-game thread.

Sam

Sam, the game on thread must have been where I read it! BTW, I don't think I've thanked you for creating such a great place to discuss the C's. I know you had help, and thanks to others as well. I also read your account of the '69 championship trip, great piece of writing!