Ray Allen played in 91 playoff games for the Celtics. Kevin Garnett played in 84 playoff games for the Celtics. Garnett played in 38 more regular season games than Allen did, however Allen actually played more regular season minutes than Garnett despite playing in less games.
If you look at advanced metrics like GmSc, Allen was the best player on the floor during the 08 NBA Finals (Allen was 16.7, Kobe was 16.4, and Pierce was 15.6). Allen led the team in minutes and had an absolutely insane TS% of 70.8. His ORtg was 129 and he had the same DRtg as Pierce at 106 (Pierce's ORtg was 112). KG was 99 for both. I think people forget just how good Allen was in that series. Pierce won the Finals MVP with that epic game 5 performance (as well as being Mr. Celtic), but Allen just as easily could have won it as he didn't have any god awful games like Pierce did in game 3.
I just don't see how you can realistically separate Garnett from Allen in this debate. Either they should both go up or neither should. I'm of the belief neither should as I don't think either played long enough in Boston to have earned the highest honor a team can give a player.
Are you serious with this?
If you really want to delve into advanced statistics, we can do that. But those generally don’t provide much over a 6-game stretch. Want to use the entire 2008 playoffs? You can pick and choose which stat(s) and narrow it down to just the Finals, but Ray had a number of duds (scoreless in game 1 and 4 point stinker in game 7 of ECSF). We probably beat Cleveland and Detroit despite Ray.
Let’s not even talk about the 2010 Finals, the one where he couldn’t hit a three in 4 of the 7 games and shot 3-14 in the decisive game 7.
I don’t think even you believe Allen was nearly as good as KG was. Not in 2008, actually not ever in their careers anywhere. BUT, even if you did, that doesn’t mean they have to retire his number if they retire Kevin’s. They don’t HAVE to retire anyone’s. They get to choose. And relationships matter. He walked away. He was offered more money and a NTC for a lesser role with our rival. He burned this bridge, not Danny.
Danny traded Ray Allen. Let's not conveniently forget that small fact. Memphis backed out after Danny had already told Allen the trade was done. A lesser role? Doc had already sent Allen to the bench. He was going to have the exact same role on each team i.e. first guard off the bench, only difference is, one team was a contender that hadn't stabbed him in the back, the other one was not a contender that betrayed him the season before.
Backing up a young guard like Bradley is the same role as backing up perennial All-Star Wade? As long as he was in Boston, he would always be part of the Big Three, even if his role diminished more than the other two.
In Miami, he was nothing more than a hired (cheap) gun to spread the floor. Nobody really cared about him there, he was an afterthought.
Danny traded everybody. He’s the only one (and I guess now IT) that got so butthurt about it. Yet every one of them, Isaiah included, talks glowingly about the organization. Every time Ray brings up the Celtics, he’s defending himself. He lives with guilt, not Danny, not Wyc and co., and not us fans.
He could have built a lasting legacy here, not a 5 year one (everyone hated him the second he left, the ill will didn’t fester over time). Now he’s a guy who played for four different teams and nobody cares about him anywhere. He ruined that, not Danny.
I hope that extra ring was worth it.