You're a big Ray Allen fan. Got it, courtesy of your alias and prior posts that seemed to be interested in taking shots at other Celtics in the interest of boosting Ray. Duly noted.
A few assorted thoughts:
Ive followed Ray Ray for years, and his first year as a Celtics he was an obvious big part of the offense, nowadays hes a fourth option, some might say no Rondo passes first, but thats not true, Rondo has really taken away shots and opportunities from Ray Allen (not in an entirely bad way), and since Ray is 4th option what else would you expect. The threes are always contested or their being put up at the buzzer.
Ray takes one less field-goal attempt per 36 minutes than he did in his first season with the team and exactly as many free throws per 36 minutes as he did in his first season with the team. In his three seasons with the Celtics, his usage rates have gone 21.6-20.8-20.4. His usage rate was never below 27 in Seattle. So, yes, his role in the offense has decreased during his time as a Celtic, but it's clear that the most precipitous drop (and thus likely the biggest adjustment) was in coming to Boston in the first place, not in the last two years.
As for your claim about contested shots often coming at the buzzer, that's an anecdotal claim without much backing. I can recall plenty of open looks that Ray has gotten on the wings and in the corner thanks to Rondo pushing the ball in transition. In fact, in many of the cases in which the Celtics run the shot clock all the way down, Rondo is the one to end up with the ball in his hands pounding the dribble away and then taking a jumper. I don't put this forth this as any sort of definitive refutation of your claim about the types of shots Ray gets but simply to point out that I'm unsure of just how much validity your claim has.
I know people have crapped on Ray and say his shooting is finished but I highly disagree. Ray is a shooter and your gonna go through slumps. As bad as 35 % from three is, its not a sign of things to come.
Says who? Do you have any substantive backing for this or just gut feeling?
All i know is getting 16 on 45% from the field , and adding unselfishness and decent team concept on offense and defense, not to mention playing high minutes every game is fine with me.
His raw field-goal percentage is of virtually no consequence to me. Effective field goal percentage and true shooting percentage provide a far more accurate reflection of a player's scoring efficiency as they account for made three-pointers and both made threes and foul shots respectively, with appropriate weighting. By both of those measures, Ray is having his least efficient scoring season as a Celtic and shooting at levels below his career standards.
People dont realize that bringing in a better and younger superstar might mean a better future, but it will not mean better production.....that "Superstar" will still have to adjust to being a 4th option.
But when Ray was better and younger than he is now (i.e. the last two years), he posted true shooting percentages of 58.4 and then a bonkers 62.4 in his first two years as a Celtic. Seems like better production isn't exactly impossible.
I can guarantee bringing in Kevin Martin or Jason Richardson or Kirk Hinrich will not make this team better,
With all due respect, does this mean anything? Guaranteeing something you have zero control over with little statistical or anecdotal evidence to back it up?
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I should take a moment to disclaim all of the above by mentioning that I'm a big Ray Allen fan myself. Love watching him play, love rooting for a guy who seems to be a consummate professional. And the fan (as in, short for fanatic in me) wants to believe that this is just a temporary slump, that Ray will come out of it and be a valuable part of the Celtics going forward. I'm not in favor of moving him just for the sake of moving him.
But I'm also not blind to the realities of his performance thus far this year, I'm not opposed to a move if it's the right one, and I think there's some balance to be added to the discussion you started above.
-sw
Topic: Ray Allen the least of the problems (Read 4014 times)