Am I the only one who smells conspiracy? (Ray Allen)

[scaryjerry]

I wondered about the low number of attempts myself, so I watched the defense closely. Charlotte was smothering Ray behind the arc. There were just no shots for him to take.  Also, I don't think he'd put a record in front of winning.

I think other teams are trying very hard not to be the ones in the highlight that he sets the record during.

Really?
I dont think thats on the opposing teams minds whatsoever.
Hes been thought of as an all time great 3 pt shooter.....hes going to break a record and teams are gonna defend him better? not buying that

The Bobcats did a great job of running him off the three point line all night, to the extent that they gave up a ton of easy 2 point shots.

Motivation to not be the team that he broke the record against could definitely be a part of it.

Bobcats did do a good job last night...but if he wasnt chasing a record they wouldnt have closed out as hard?

[Fafnir]

I wondered about the low number of attempts myself, so I watched the defense closely. Charlotte was smothering Ray behind the arc. There were just no shots for him to take.  Also, I don't think he'd put a record in front of winning.

I think other teams are trying very hard not to be the ones in the highlight that he sets the record during.

Really?
I dont think thats on the opposing teams minds whatsoever.
Hes been thought of as an all time great 3 pt shooter.....hes going to break a record and teams are gonna defend him better? not buying that

Why? They talk about it in baseball all the time.  Not wanting to be the pitcher which Barry Bonds hit his big homeruns against.  I do see that being a possible option, I also think the Bobcats just did a good job of covering him outside the perimeter.  No conspiracy, it's not like Ray Allen stunk.  He played a great game.

That anologies a bit different but I see where you're coming from
I dont think people hate ray allen around the league, most of them have respect and see him as the all time greatest 3 pt shooter...Why in the context of a single game would a team defend such a player better because of a potential record breaking 3? ive seen him left wide open probably more then any other season with us....Im not buying that theory. I do however think its in his head he wants to break it at home, against the lakers...despite playing a great game last night, he shot more long 2s then i can ever remember

Its not about hating him, its about not having to see your team on the court as they show the highlight 100 times on sports center.

Then seeing it again when he retires, and again when he goes into the HoF....

[scaryjerry]

I wondered about the low number of attempts myself, so I watched the defense closely. Charlotte was smothering Ray behind the arc. There were just no shots for him to take.  Also, I don't think he'd put a record in front of winning.

I think other teams are trying very hard not to be the ones in the highlight that he sets the record during.

Really?
I dont think thats on the opposing teams minds whatsoever.
Hes been thought of as an all time great 3 pt shooter.....hes going to break a record and teams are gonna defend him better? not buying that

Why? They talk about it in baseball all the time.  Not wanting to be the pitcher which Barry Bonds hit his big homeruns against.  I do see that being a possible option, I also think the Bobcats just did a good job of covering him outside the perimeter.  No conspiracy, it's not like Ray Allen stunk.  He played a great game.

That anologies a bit different but I see where you're coming from
I dont think people hate ray allen around the league, most of them have respect and see him as the all time greatest 3 pt shooter...Why in the context of a single game would a team defend such a player better because of a potential record breaking 3? ive seen him left wide open probably more then any other season with us....Im not buying that theory. I do however think its in his head he wants to break it at home, against the lakers...despite playing a great game last night, he shot more long 2s then i can ever remember

Its not about hating him, its about not having to see your team on the court as they show the highlight 100 times on sports center.

Then seeing it again when he retires, and again when he goes into the HoF....

Why not? what other way will any bobcat player ever be shown in the context of history? whats bad about being the film of ray breaking the record? its not a huge deal really
I dont think the bobcats or another team thinks about that quite as much as fans think....i think rays thinking about it more then the bobcats

[Fafnir]

I wondered about the low number of attempts myself, so I watched the defense closely. Charlotte was smothering Ray behind the arc. There were just no shots for him to take.  Also, I don't think he'd put a record in front of winning.

I think other teams are trying very hard not to be the ones in the highlight that he sets the record during.

Really?
I dont think thats on the opposing teams minds whatsoever.
Hes been thought of as an all time great 3 pt shooter.....hes going to break a record and teams are gonna defend him better? not buying that

The Bobcats did a great job of running him off the three point line all night, to the extent that they gave up a ton of easy 2 point shots.

Motivation to not be the team that he broke the record against could definitely be a part of it.

Bobcats did do a good job last night...but if he wasnt chasing a record they wouldnt have closed out as hard?

Motivation matters, especially in a long grind of a season like the NBA.

[greenpride32]

I called it during the west coast trip; that Ray would break the record vs LAL, on TNT, with Reggie in the house.  It's definitely a setup.  Ray took a fairly open shot in the 2nd half (sorry don't recall exactly when) in the corner that was well on the perimiter. You rarely see him take a shot this deep without being behind the arc.  He's always either beyond the arc or within 16 feet.

But I have tickets to the game so I have no complaints about witnessing history 

[greenpride32]

BTW - there was an interview with Ray over the past 4-5 days where he said his preference would be to break the record at home.  I can't find the link now since it's buried under newer articles now.

The NBA is more about marketing than competitive play these days.  It's an unfortunate side effect that Jordan left.

[celticinorlando]

i agree..he was not looking for the 3 last night...this has been set up to be at home..vs the lakers..on TNT..with Miller there.

[RockinRyA]

perhaps a fade-away buzzer beating, game winning 4-pt play off kobe 

[Mike-Dub]

Please... This is silly.  Ray holds winning and the team higher than anything.  To think that he would hold back on three's for the better of himself and hurt the team I believe is completely ludacris.

If Ray had the chance to get the record last night in order for the Celts to win he would have.  He was playing what the Bobcats were giving him and that was the drive and mid range game.

I for one would have liked to see Ray tie and get the record last night that way the C's could have won.  Seeing him do it against the Lakers at home with Reggie in the house will be pretty sweet though.

This is all just my opinion obviously I don't Ray personally or have ever met him, but from everything I've heard through the media and what I've heard of him speak I don't think he would put a record over the team.

[vinnie]

This is why I love and hate the internet. Now we have the conspiracy that Ray Allen intentionally did not shoot three pointers last night so he could break the record at home. Did anyone watch the game? He was the team's high scorer and he had open 2-point shots all night. He took what the Bobcats gave him and was very efficient from the field. So while it drives me crazy to read about these conspiracies all the time, it also brightens my day and gives me a good laugh.

[greenpride32]

This is why I love and hate the internet. Now we have the conspiracy that Ray Allen intentionally did not shoot three pointers last night so he could break the record at home. Did anyone watch the game? He was the team's high scorer and he had open 2-point shots all night. He took what the Bobcats gave him and was very efficient from the field. So while it drives me crazy to read about these conspiracies all the time, it also brightens my day and gives me a good laugh.

Ray is a 3 pt shooter.  That's why he took 4 against ORL, 7 against DAL SAC LAL the 3 games before that, 4 against PHO, 6 against CLE and POR and 8 against UTH and WAS the 2 games before.

Sure he would have taken more attempts last night if he didn't happen to make the first 2.

[rickyfan3.0...]

It is so funny to hear the green footie pajama Celtic fans flip out over this.

He held it back. No doubt.

[pearljammer10]

When he did get open he would take a step in front of the line or drive to the basket. Bobcats were smothering him but I dont think it was any secret that he was trying to go for the record at home, especially against the Lakers.

[CelticG1]

It is so funny to hear the green footie pajama Celtic fans flip out over this.

He held it back. No doubt.

haha you sound like Felger.

My prediction is that he doesn't break it against the Lakers. It will be like before the deadline when Ray was ice cold because of all the trade talks. Or during the finals last year when he had 8 3's only to not make any (maybe a couple) the rest of the series.

[biggs]

This was my best friends txt last night:

"Dear Ray, please save one for the Lakers, your fan-

Habib."