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 Posted: Sat 18:27, 31 Aug 2013 Post subject: Hartford Pro sports-spun5 |
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Hartford Pro sports
AP Photo/Elise Amendola: What is Ray's future with the Celtics?
When Ray Allen came over to the Celtics via a trade with the Sonics (now transcendentally named the Thunder), at least one man was thrilled--Paul Pierce. Pierce had been waiting, increasingly impatiently so, for the Celtics to enhance the roster around him with quality players to make a playoff run. Too often,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], he saw himself passing to players who he wished weren wearing the same color jersey as he was.
Prior to the eventual arrival of Kevin Garnett, Allen brought star power and offensive stability to Boston. His touch from beyond the arc is impressive,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], as he is a career 40% 3-point shooter,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], and he is one of the best free-throw shooters in NBA history. Of course, with virtues,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], there tend to be flaws, whether they are masked or completely exposed. With Allen, people discounted his defensive abilities, and there were concerns about how his jump shot would hold up throughout the remainder of his contract, due to the number of minutes that his legs have endured over the years. Typically,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], jump shooters see a decline in their stats over time, as their legs just can handle the grind as they enter their 30s.
Through his first two years with the Celtics, Allen has had his fair share of thrilling moments and surprising failures. In just his second game as a Celtic, Allen hit a game winner in Toronto. He carried the Celtics in several games in this season Bulls series, most notably Game 2, hitting the game winner there as well. However, we also seen Ray-Ray struggle. He disappeared several times in the playoffs; both last season and this season. And while he raised his ppg average during this year postseason soiree, he did so while shooting only 40% from the field, which is actually two points worse than last year number (with last year having its assortment of clunkers from Allen as well). And Allen numbers would look even worse if it weren for that huge Game 6 that he had, as he went off for 51 points.
So, like with so many players in the midst of the twilight portion of their careers, the Celtics have a bit of an enigma with Allen. He coming off of a great regular season,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], and looked much more comfortable playing in his second year with the Celtics. They know that at any moment he can absolutely carry them. He can hit a shot from anywhere on the floor: off the dribble,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], off a screen (his preferred shot of choice), or by taking it to the hoop (as infrequent as that may be). They also know that on any night, they may be forced to go to Plan B, which would mean turning to players like Eddie House or Tony Allen to take his spot on the floor, and contribute to (but not entirely replace on their own) replacing Allen offensive output.
Allen turns 34 in July, and for a jump shooter, that is a bit of a scary age. Granted, we been saying this as a warning now for some time, and he has proven this kind of talk to be nothing but paranoia so far,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], but eventually one would assume that age is not going to just be a number. Allen has had his share of injuries through his career, but he has been surprisingly healthy (relatively speaking,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], especially with word coming out that he was hurt during the playoffs this year with a hamstring injury) with the Celtics. Boston can expect him to routinely give them 35+ minutes a game like he has for his two years in Boston. Granted,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], this is a contract year for him so he may come into camp in the best shape of his life,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], but he already is in tremendous shape. Just look at him fly around the court throughout the entire game,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], both on offense and on defense. We can expect him to play much better,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], or stay any healthier, than he has been to date.
As a result of the inconsistent play (particularly in the playoffs), and the looming threat of age finally catching up to him, the Celtics need to gauge how to ready themselves for Allen decline, whether it be subtle or significant. I not expecting him to drop off in 2009-2010, but I wouldn be surprised to see him have the occasional bad game a little more often, and maybe even occurring a little earlier, than the Celtics would like. And I don think that they can do that with anyone currently on the roster. House, believe it or not,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], is worse defensively than Allen while Tony Allen is a significant drop-off offensively. Giddens. So for better or worse, Ray Allen is locking down the SG spot for at least this upcoming season.
Verdict: Keep him,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], and maybe even get into discussions on an extension. However, this extension must not be for more than a season, and needs to be dramatically cheaper than his 2009-2010 salary of $18+ million. The Celtics are already up against the cap, and need to start looking towards the post-Allen era.
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