50, 40, 90 for Ray

[Redz]

Steve Kerr in 95-96

50.6 FG%
52.4 3PG%
92.9 FT%

He did have one advantage though.....

Shorter 3 point line.

I think they may have helped a little.....

 

TP for that.  Forgot about the short line.  That was just plain silly.  Was it Dennis Scott that made a silly amount at that distance?

[BillfromBoston]

I don't see it happening.  Ray has never shot over 50% in a season, and he's only hit over 40% of his three pointers four times.  The 90% on free throws is a given.

While I think 50% shooting is a high-end figure,  I don't doubt he could set his career high in FG% this season...you look at his statistics and his best shooting numbers were when he was on Milwaukee with Big Dog and Cassell...Seattle put too much shooting burden on him and he took more challenged shots..

Now Allen is getting more open looks and having more space to operate than possibly ever before - no reason he can't keep this up all year IMO, as long as he can play 35 minutes or less on average, he is playing such a relaxed, easy game, this should be a cinch..

[BillfromBoston]

His numbers have risen as the season progresses instead of declining like last year.

[Last season]I figured that as the season went on, his form would improve... so given that he was shooting well with a bad form, I thought it was very very plausible for him to reach the goal.

I was quite wrong. He struggled with his form, among other things, throughout the year... and he no longer was making the shots inspite off a bad form, but it was causing a decline.

You guys are misremembering, I think.  Ray got much better as the season went on last year.  His best two months -- by far -- were February and March.

Prior to the All Star break last season, he was shooting 42.5% overall, and 37.5% on threes.  After the break, he shot 48.7% overall, and 44.4% on three pointers.  His raw numbers went down in late March and into April, but that's because his minutes were restricted to rest for the playoffs.  Obviously, he had a slump in the playoffs (until late in the Detroit series), but the thought that he got worse as the year progressed just isn't accurate.

(February was his best month; he shot 49.5%, and an insane 46.4% on threes.)

Link.

I'm not misremembering. Even if his form improved throughout the year, he wasn't making the shots (though as you say, he turned the corner around February). As I said, earlier in the season he was shooting the ball poorly, even so the balls went in for him. I know it sounds as a contradiction, but that was the case early in the season.

The games after the All Star break are simply a small sample in comparison with what he had to go through with most of last season. He was very good during the span, but a little too late in regard to what we're discussing here. The first 3 or so months after we were having this discussion weren't that good.

Keep in mind, what I was describing above was from the perspective of when in last season we were discussing this, at it was after a handful of games into the season (first 4 games I think). When I say decline, I mean more from where he was when we discussed this in the context of FG%. At the time when the conversation started he was shooting like 60% from the field... hope that clears up what I meant.

Over 30 games post All-Star break is not a small sample - Ray got stronger as the year went on...

[BudweiserCeltic]

A little too late... that better then? It's of no consequence. When we're talking about shooting 50% for the year, a 25 game stretch or so where he's shooting well is indeed a small sample in my opinion, as it regards that matter. In 4 of the 6 months he shot bellow 45%, in 3 of those he shot bellow 42%. The gap between those 41% and the 50% months is too big to overcome.

Still the point I was trying to make was that when we were discussing the goal last season, 4 games in, I said that he was making shots inspite of his shot looking bad. I reasonably assumed that as his shot improved he'd start making shots because he's shooting well, not the other way around... that reaching the goal was more than plausible. For the first 3 months he clearly struggled... even if his shot was looking better, the results weren't improving.

There was no natural progression; that's all I was saying, that my theory of how the season was going to go about was off. That he shot vastly better after the all-star break doesn't negate those 3 early months that even if he was improving his form, his shots weren't falling at a better consistency.

[I Am A Boston Celtic]

Steve Kerr in 95-96

50.6 FG%
52.4 3PG%
92.9 FT%

He did have one advantage though.....

Shorter 3 point line.

I think they may have helped a little.....

 

TP for that.  Forgot about the short line.  That was just plain silly.  Was it Dennis Scott that made a silly amount at that distance?

Yeah he made 267/628 @ 42.5%

He played all 82 games that year, so that's 3.3/7.7 per game.....

Ridiculous!!!

[ACF]

Steve Kerr in 95-96

50.6 FG%
52.4 3PG%
92.9 FT%

He did have one advantage though.....

Shorter 3 point line.

I think they may have helped a little.....

 

Sure, it must have helped.
But I also remember that Kerr
never (as in almost always)
took a bad shot: He waited for
the right opportunity to throw
the 3-bomb. Plus, he wasn't good
at creating his own shot, so he
relied on great passes from his
team mates.

[makaveli]

Who cares,as long as we win another championship

[papa shuttlesworth]

44 games in and he's shooting .500, .412 and .935.

Awesome to watch.

[TatteredOnMySleeve]

I  Love ray, he's the class act of all class acts...but what I actually find concerning this year is how much the celtics struggle when the backcourt of ray/rondo isnt playing near perfect...Ray is a shooter who will not stay hot like that throughout the playoffs, and rondo is a young inconsistent player in this league..
  
  This team needs to be more about KG/Pierce, lets face it our title hopes our in their hands.  I really think they both need to step up their games to another level after all star break, they've been good, but this team is winning games mostly because of the backcourt these days, Ray has been phenominal...and during the 19 game win streak it was the great play from the tandom in the backcourt, and you really saw them slip during that slump where we lost 7 out of 9, and now they're picking it up again, and its no suprise we've won 6 in a row.
As far as him shooting 50 40 and 90 for the season, its possible, but not likely especially in the playoffs

[Casperian]

Players with a 50/40/90 season:

Larry Bird 86/87 and 87/88
Dirk Nowitzki 06/07
Reggie Miller 93/94
Steve Nash 05/06 and 07/08
Steve Kerr 95/96
Jose Calderon 07/08
Mark Price 88/89
Billy McKinney 80/81

So, Larry was not the first player ever who averaged these numbers, Billy McKinney was. Actually, McKinney had a 50/50/90 season in 80/81, but just like Steve Kerr 95/96, who also had a 50/50/90, he only averaged ~8 points in 30 minutes. So Larry was the first No 1 option to ever achieve that feat.

[Ed Teach]

When I read the title of the thread, I thought that this was another trade Ray Allen thread.   

I hope Ray pulls it off, he deserves it. He may be my favorite Celtic right now. I love his game; he is the ultimate professional.  A lot of people consider him the most expendable of the big three, I think that his importance to this team is under rated even by Celtic fans. 

[xmuscularghandix]

I honestly think he can do it.

[LarBrd33]

Players with a 50/40/90 season:

Larry Bird 86/87 and 87/88
Dirk Nowitzki 06/07
Reggie Miller 93/94
Steve Nash 05/06 and 07/08
Steve Kerr 95/96
Jose Calderon 07/08
Mark Price 88/89
Billy McKinney 80/81

So, Larry was not the first player ever who averaged these numbers, Billy McKinney was. Actually, McKinney had a 50/50/90 season in 80/81, but just like Steve Kerr 95/96, who also had a 50/50/90, he only averaged ~8 points in 30 minutes. So Larry was the first No 1 option to ever achieve that feat.

Cuz I have no life... I just looked it all up:

80/81 - Billy McKinney: .532/.500/.917  -  8.4 points (only 1/2 on three pointers... You can't really count him.  44 Free Throws)
86/87 - Larry Bird:  .525/.400/.910 - 28.1 PPG (90 3P / 414 FT)
87/88 - Larry Bird:  .527/.414/.916 - 29.9 PPG (98 3P / 415 FT)
88/89 - Mark Price:  .526/.441/.901 - 18.9 PPG (93 3P / 263 FT)
93/94 - Reggie Miller:  .503/.421/.908 - 19.9 PPG (123 3P / 403 FT)
*95/96 - Steve Kerr:  .506/.515/.929 - 8.4 PPG (122 3P / 78 FT) *shortened three point line
05/06 - Steve Nash:  .512/.439/.921 - 18.8 PPG (150 3P / 279 FT)
06/07 - Dirk Nowitzki: .502/.416/.904 - 24.6 PPG (72 3P / 498 FT)
07/08 - Steve Nash:  .504/.470/.906 - 16.9 PPG (179 3P / 245 FT)
07/08 - Jose Calderon:  .519/.429/.908 - 11.2 PPG (79 3P / 109 FT)

And currently on Pace this year:
08/09 - Jose Calderon:  .510/.464/1.00/ - 13.3 PPG (51 3P / 83 FT)
08/09 - Ray Allen:  .504/.416/.936 - 18.1 PPG (112 3P / 131 FT)

Anyone else missing from that list that hasn't been mentioned?   And wow... Calderon hasn't missed a free throw all year??

[LarBrd33]

Bill Simmons brings up some good points in his new article:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3863472

Kevin Durant is currently doing like... .47/.42/.86 ... but he's only 20 years old.

Um … does anyone realize he just turned 20 on Sept. 29, making him younger than Mayo? That he's breaking every scoring benchmark by age? That he's been averaging 26 points, eight rebounds, 48% shooting, 85% from the line and 43% on threes since Thanksgiving? Go online and check out his ESPN.com game log. Do it now. I'll wait.

(Twiddling my thumbs.)

Got it? Now look at those point totals: 28, 25, 26, 26, 28, 26, 25 … You know in Jaws when Richard Dreyfuss calls the shark an "eating machine"? Durant is a scoring machine. He was put on this earth to collect points. We have never seen anyone quite like him before: a 6'9" forward with Plastic Man arms, 30-foot range and the ability to thrive in big moments. He has more career buzzer-beaters than LeBron. Trust me, it's true.

Know also that NBA players peak between ages 25 and 29. So what's Durant's realistic peak? Will he average 33 a game on percentages of 55-90-50? Will he average 36 ppg? Thirty-eight? Seriously, where does this go? Nobody's discussing that. Nobody's even acknowledging it.

55/50/90?   Hmm... could happen... I'm pretty sure Durant will join the 50/40/90 club pretty quickly.

[BillfromBoston]

I don't see it happening.  Ray has never shot over 50% in a season, and he's only hit over 40% of his three pointers four times.  The 90% on free throws is a given.

To be fair, this is the most quality looks he's probably every had in his career either - his percentages were much better in Mil when he played with Cassell and Big Dog, but even then he was taking many more shots off the dribble.

Its always hard to go for those 3 percentages, but he's got a great role in which to accomplish it...regardless, this is Ray's best season as a pro i believe - not much fat on his game at all...