Who’s had the better career, Paul Pierce or Ray Allen?

[fairweatherfan]

Pierce is a better overall player, but Ray's had a better career - he's going to retire with almost every 3 pt record and near the top for FT shooting as well. 

[moiso]

If I had to pick one of these guys in their prime for some kind of dream team I think I would take Ray.  He seemed a lot more disiplined than Pierce in the early days.  Career wise, it's so close.  They both have been excellent and durable for such a long time.

[Ed Teach]

The one thing that hurts Pierce outside of Boston is that he is a player people love to hate.  The Celtics and the Lakers are the two teams in the league that opposing fans hate the most.  Pierce does not attract the casual basketball fan like Wade, Lebron, Kobe, or Howard.  I think that a lot of it comes from Nike and player marketing.

[Roy Hobbs]

I think if you asked nationwide the answer would be Ray Allen.

Around here, where we've seen Paul his whole career...it's not surprising if Paul was the obvious choice.

Based on statistical production, Pierce has the edge.

Based on efficiency, Ray Allen has the edge.

It's very close.

I would have to go with Ray because he was on more talented teams which hurt his production compared to Pierce who had the benefit of being "a great player on some bad teams."

In fairness, Ray was a "great player on some bad teams" too, right?

[bMunch]

six of one, meet half dozen of the other.

it's a draw.

[Carhole]

I think if you asked nationwide the answer would be Ray Allen.

Around here, where we've seen Paul his whole career...it's not surprising if Paul was the obvious choice.

Based on statistical production, Pierce has the edge.

Based on efficiency, Ray Allen has the edge.

It's very close.

I would have to go with Ray because he was on more talented teams which hurt his production compared to Pierce who had the benefit of being "a great player on some bad teams."

How is ray more efficient? PP scores more on less shots and draws many more fouls which makes everyone more likely to score from the line?

His percentages are better from 2 and 3 but if you took out the O'brien chuck it and get back on d two years - PP is .385% from  3 and closer to 47% from field.

PP is a better defender, rebounder and a more versatile scorer. Ray has to be happy "just" being one of the 5 greatest shooters  ever

[papa shuttlesworth]

Not that it will answer this question, but I'm curious: Is there a way to look at their records and stats vs each other?

[LB3533]

I think if you asked nationwide the answer would be Ray Allen.

Around here, where we've seen Paul his whole career...it's not surprising if Paul was the obvious choice.

Based on statistical production, Pierce has the edge.

Based on efficiency, Ray Allen has the edge.

It's very close.

I would have to go with Ray because he was on more talented teams which hurt his production compared to Pierce who had the benefit of being "a great player on some bad teams."

In fairness, Ray was a "great player on some bad teams" too, right?

Well, yes and no because he had more talent on his teams compared to Paul so he couldn't actually be as "great" as he could have been to the extent that Paul had to be "great" due to the dearth of talent/experience on those Celtic rosters.

[LB3533]

I think if you asked nationwide the answer would be Ray Allen.

Around here, where we've seen Paul his whole career...it's not surprising if Paul was the obvious choice.

Based on statistical production, Pierce has the edge.

Based on efficiency, Ray Allen has the edge.

It's very close.

I would have to go with Ray because he was on more talented teams which hurt his production compared to Pierce who had the benefit of being "a great player on some bad teams."

How is ray more efficient? PP scores more on less shots and draws many more fouls which makes everyone more likely to score from the line?

His percentages are better from 2 and 3 but if you took out the O'brien chuck it and get back on d two years - PP is .385% from  3 and closer to 47% from field.

PP is a better defender, rebounder and a more versatile scorer. Ray has to be happy "just" being one of the 5 greatest shooters  ever

Paul has a much higher Usage Rate than Ray, 28.1 to 24.9 which one can infer the more the ball is in Paul's hands, the more chances he can score or get to the FT line.

Also, Ray's game isn't getting to the line since his strength is shooting.

But because Ray's a shooter it makes his high True Shooting % and eFG% that much more impressive. Ray's are about 10 points higher TS% than Paul and 30 points higher for eFG%.

Ray's also about 10% better at the FT line compared to Paul.

Both have very good mid range game, but the obvious better shooter is Ray.

Paul is the better scorer, no doubt. Paul is the better passer and rebound as well.

It's really tough to compare the rebounds though with a SF and SG.

I will say that if the ball was in Ray's hand as much as it was in Paul's...they'd have about the same assists totals. But because Ray has played with some pretty decent to very good PG's & ball handlers in his career (Sam Cassell, Luke Rindour, Earl Watson, Brent Barry).

Who did Paul get to play with? (Antoine Walker, Kenny Anderson past his prime; Gary Payton over the hill; J.R. Bremer, Milt Palacio, Mike James?)

The lack of talent Paul had on his team did contribute to his lower efficiency though. So, can take that into consideration as well.

It's really not as easy a decision to make, choosing the two careers.

[Mr October]

they're both about the same to be honest.

[Finkelskyhook]

Why do these threads come up when one has a career game and one is perceived as struggling?

They have the same number of championships.  

[CbrewEra]

Well I'd say the Pierce votes in here are very bias, unless someone had the pleasure of watching Ray and his role with prior teams in his younger days.  Has been arguable the best shooter in the league for many years on end. 

Ofcourse I'll go with Pierce too though, having seen him carry us through tons of dark years in Boston.

[guava_wrench]

Pierce. The # of all-NBA teams is a significant number. Pierce's defense is also a big factor.

[Brendan]

Here's a stat compare for their first 12 seasons:

http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/tiny.cgi?id=vgSrH

[Birdbrain]

Not a big fan of choosing but, Paul because he's a better all around player.