Ray has bone spurs

[cman88]

I bet ray plays in the first round...not too worried about him not playing now...we've pretty much said we care about rest over home court

[wahz]

Ray Allen is the greatest shooter of all time. 

not to nitpick here but did you ever watch Bird play?  If I need someone taking a final shot to win or tie a game, I'd take Bird over Ray 100 times out of 100.

Ray has talent and longevity and I appreciate his skills but let's not go overboard.

I don't know what the percentages are but Ray Allen is certainly up there with greatest off all time. As far as game winning/last second shots he's gotta be up there too. As far as pure shooting you can't go wrong with Ray taking a a final shot

Larry Bird is a career 37.6% 3 pt shooter.  He's made a total of 649 threes in 13 seasons. 

Ray Allen is a career 40.0% 3 pt shooter.  He's made a total of 2,718 threes in 18 seasons. Second to none.

Ray Allen is clearly the better 3 point shooter.

Its not that I disagree with your post. Ray might be as good or better. But I have to say that Bird didn't take his threes in the same way at all. He was not runnning off a series of screens. He took many in transition, but he was often creating space for his shot and then shooting over his man to get his threes. I recall one game where he went for 35 and 15 or so and the only shots he missed were heavily contested threes at the end of the shot clock. Bird would dribble up to the line or move back past the line. Ray is almost exactly like Dale Ellis was. He needs screens and has a poor handle.

[myteamisbetterthanyours]

Ray Allen is the greatest shooter of all time. 

not to nitpick here but did you ever watch Bird play?  If I need someone taking a final shot to win or tie a game, I'd take Bird over Ray 100 times out of 100.

Ray has talent and longevity and I appreciate his skills but let's not go overboard.

I don't know what the percentages are but Ray Allen is certainly up there with greatest off all time. As far as game winning/last second shots he's gotta be up there too. As far as pure shooting you can't go wrong with Ray taking a a final shot

Larry Bird is a career 37.6% 3 pt shooter.  He's made a total of 649 threes in 13 seasons. 

Ray Allen is a career 40.0% 3 pt shooter.  He's made a total of 2,718 threes in 18 seasons. Second to none.

Ray Allen is clearly the better 3 point shooter.

The game changed so much from the 80's to today. Not to mention that Bird barely shot them early in his career. If Bird played in today's 3pt happy NBA, and if he truly wanted to, rest assured that he would be the 3pt king. Bird basically did whatever he wanted on the court.

True the game is different now.  But I don't think anyone can truly say that Bird would be 3 pt king if he played now.  He shot a lot less threes and he made a LOWER percentage.  So based on that alone theres no way you can say that Bird would have been a better shooter in todays game.  Thats actually a little biased if you think about it... Not saying I don't think Bird is one of the greatest basketball players to ever bless the court... because he was... but based on stats alone, you have to give the crown to Ray for shooting IMO.

But thats off topic anyway.. Ray's 3 pt shooting and clutch factor is definitely a need for us off the bench.. and you're kidding yourself if you think we'd be perfectly fine without him.

Avery Bradley or Ray Allen... who do you want taking the last second 3? I'll take my chances with the 3pt King thank you very much.

[myteamisbetterthanyours]

Ray Allen is the greatest shooter of all time. 

not to nitpick here but did you ever watch Bird play?  If I need someone taking a final shot to win or tie a game, I'd take Bird over Ray 100 times out of 100.

Ray has talent and longevity and I appreciate his skills but let's not go overboard.

I don't know what the percentages are but Ray Allen is certainly up there with greatest off all time. As far as game winning/last second shots he's gotta be up there too. As far as pure shooting you can't go wrong with Ray taking a a final shot

Larry Bird is a career 37.6% 3 pt shooter.  He's made a total of 649 threes in 13 seasons. 

Ray Allen is a career 40.0% 3 pt shooter.  He's made a total of 2,718 threes in 18 seasons. Second to none.

Ray Allen is clearly the better 3 point shooter.

Its not that I disagree with your post. Ray might be as good or better. But I have to say that Bird didn't take his threes in the same way at all. He was not runnning off a series of screens. He took many in transition, but he was often creating space for his shot and then shooting over his man to get his threes. I recall one game where he went for 35 and 15 or so and the only shots he missed were heavily contested threes at the end of the shot clock. Bird would dribble up to the line or move back past the line. Ray is almost exactly like Dale Ellis was. He needs screens and has a poor handle.

Great point.. Bird was more of an off the dribble shooter who created his own shot more times than not, which could be the reason for his lower percentage.  But Ray in his hay day was pulling up in peoples faces with little to no space for his shot.... and swishing them.  Ray Allen in his prime could shoot over anybody, regardless of spacing with his absolutely PERFECT form and quick release.  Ray Allen today, is the guy who you seem to be describing, a guy who runs off multiple screens to create space, but even now, it doesn't take Ray much space to drill a three in your face.

[myteamisbetterthanyours]

Ray Allen is the greatest shooter of all time. 

not to nitpick here but did you ever watch Bird play?  If I need someone taking a final shot to win or tie a game, I'd take Bird over Ray 100 times out of 100.

Ray has talent and longevity and I appreciate his skills but let's not go overboard.

I don't know what the percentages are but Ray Allen is certainly up there with greatest off all time. As far as game winning/last second shots he's gotta be up there too. As far as pure shooting you can't go wrong with Ray taking a a final shot

Larry Bird is a career 37.6% 3 pt shooter.  He's made a total of 649 threes in 13 seasons. 

Ray Allen is a career 40.0% 3 pt shooter.  He's made a total of 2,718 threes in 18 seasons. Second to none.

Ray Allen is clearly the better 3 point shooter.

Its not that I disagree with your post. Ray might be as good or better. But I have to say that Bird didn't take his threes in the same way at all. He was not runnning off a series of screens. He took many in transition, but he was often creating space for his shot and then shooting over his man to get his threes. I recall one game where he went for 35 and 15 or so and the only shots he missed were heavily contested threes at the end of the shot clock. Bird would dribble up to the line or move back past the line. Ray is almost exactly like Dale Ellis was. He needs screens and has a poor handle.

Great point.. Bird was more of an off the dribble shooter who created his own shot more times than not, which could be the reason for his lower percentage.  But Ray in his hay day was pulling up in peoples faces with little to no space for his shot.... and swishing them.  Ray Allen in his prime could shoot over anybody, regardless of spacing with his absolutely PERFECT form and quick release.  Ray Allen today, is the guy who you seem to be describing, a guy who runs off multiple screens to create space, but even now, it doesn't take Ray much space to drill a three in your face.

People forget that Ray Allen actually used to run the point at UConn.  He used to have very good handles.. In his prime he used that to the best of his abilities by shooting off the dribble, taking it hard to the basket, pulling up in transition..

Nowadays it seems he's lost a lot of that ball handling ability and is more of a catch and shoot guy... which could actually be attributed to having Rondo as your point guard, which gives Ray Allen less incentive to have to dribble to create his shot when he has a top 5 point guard and good screen setters to create it for him..

But do not sleep.. Ray Allen was not always a spot up shooter.. I suggest youtubing Ray Allen in his Seattle days.. great highlights

[JBone4eva]

The question i have is if Ray only has bone spurs but his team is gonna be in the playoffs why doesnt he give it a go first round? You have Nikola Pekovic in Minnesota with the same ailment except by all accounts worse but still playing for nothing but pride at this point in the season.

By no means am i calling Ray a JO case who blatantly made excuses and wasted valuable time with injuries. But im just wondering could this have anything to do with his perceived slight and the fact he plans to move on from Boston in the offseason.

I doubt that Ray would sit out the entire first round but even if he did, it's because he actually has something to try and heal and play for with the playoffs, unlike Pekovic who has an empty schedule after a few days.

I think to wonder if Ray would sit out the first round of a playoff series out of spite toward the organization rather than legitimate injury is pretty insulting towards his professionalism as a pro.

[KGs Knee]

Article says they're small, like a grain of sand.  Bone spurs tells me Ray is dealing with an inflammed tendon.  Bad news.

It's always tendons with this team that do us in.  KG, Shaq, and now possibly Ray.  All tendon issues.

Hopefully it's not so bad he can't play.  Also, SG happens to be our position of greatest depth.  It's possible we might be able to survive with out Ray for a bit.


Link:http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/celtics/post/_/id/4692629/ray-allens-timetable-still-cloudy

An MRI has revealed tiny bone spurs (Allen said they are the size of a grain of sand), which appear to be the culprit. He said it was nowhere near the problem he had with his ankles in 2006-07, when he had larger bone spurs that necessitated surgery.

Hmmm, well, not sure where you got the info from, but having a bone spur is not an automatic indication that someone is dealing with an inflamed tendon.

Bone spurs are generally related to age, (as in osteoarhritis), when the soft tissue and cartilege between bones breaks down and deteriorates, causing bones to rub together, or pressure and stress being applied more directly to the bone surface by exterior means.

This causes the bone to produce more of itself to repair the area in distress, and that build-up becomes a bump or spur, (which is not sharp, as some people assume from the sound of the word).

It also occurs in the heel, and can be from the patient being overweight, having poorly fitting shoes, or abnormal repeated stress to the area, (as in sports).

For example, this happens when the long ligament on the bottom of the foot, (the plantar fascia), becomes stressed and shortened. This produces a build-up of bone which then inflames the ligament, (maybe this is what you're referring to?).

Anyway, bone spurs are not directly a tendon problem, nor an indication of such, though that can sometimes be an indirect complication or secondary diagnosis.

I personally wouldn't make that assumption in Ray's case, as it sounds like it's from normal ageing and repetitive activity.

Well, obviously I wasn't trying to imply any such possible tendon issue causing the bone spurs.  That's not even possible (I think).  My point is the bone spurs are most likely causing the tendon in the area to become inflammed.  This is a common side affect of bone spurs.  If the bone spurs are in an area where they are rubbing against the tendon, the tendon can become inflammed, resulting in swelling.

Ray has already had one cortisone shot, not a treatment for just bone spurs.  Cortisone shots are frequently administered to calm inflammed tendons.  My guess is, even though the bone spurs are small, they just so happen to be in the exactly wrong location and I'm willing to bet Ray ends up needing surgery again for this issue.

Hopefully the bone spurs are small enough that Ray can play through the pain and manage the swelling throughout the playoffs.

[bfrombleacher]

Ray Allen is the greatest shooter of all time. 

not to nitpick here but did you ever watch Bird play?  If I need someone taking a final shot to win or tie a game, I'd take Bird over Ray 100 times out of 100.

Ray has talent and longevity and I appreciate his skills but let's not go overboard.

You're probably an old timer. Old guys usually prefer Bird over everyone..

I'm a new timer but I prefer Bird over everyone too.

And yes, Ray is not just a spot up shooter. He is one of the best shooters in history.

And I agree with those who said we want Avery starting but definitely Ray closing on tight games.

I hope having the entire Hawks's series to rest would get him to 80% or better. Not undermining the Hawks though, they have talent enough to take us out but we're in a good a position as ever to beat the Hawks without Rayray.

[Boris Badenov]

AB and Ray are a pretty good offense/defense end-of-game sub combo.

[albas89]

I hope he'll be ok for at least the 2nd round, we need him badly... we saw a perfect example of how valuable Ray is while coming from the bench in the game against the Heat in Miami! his constant movement caused so much trouble for the Heat defense, KG and Bass were getting open looks every time! Not to mention he is still an elite shooter on his own... he just makes the 2nd unit so much better! we can't compete through a 7-game series against teams like the Heat and the Bulls without him!
Get well Ray...

[Kane3387]

Man we always get screwed with injuries to key players. Why can't we just see how good this team can be when 100% for once?

[Vermont Green]

It doesn't matter whether or not Ray is better than Avery Bradley and it defintely doesn't matter whether his is better than Bird but he is certainly better than Moore or Dooling and that is who is going to have to play more if we don't have Ray.

I see Ray, Bradley, and Pietrus all getting important minutes in the playoffs.  0.453 3P%, yeah, I'll take that and figure out a way to get him on the court.

[KGs Knee]

It doesn't matter whether or not Ray is better than Avery Bradley and it defintely doesn't matter whether his is better than Bird but he is certainly better than Moore or Dooling and that is who is going to have to play more if we don't have Ray.

I see Ray, Bradley, and Pietrus all getting important minutes in the playoffs.  0.453 3P%, yeah, I'll take that and figure out a way to get him on the court.

Even if Ray is out for the playoffs, there is almost no way Moore sees court time.  I'd bet Dooling will see very few minutes either.  So long as Pietrus is able to play, him and Pavlovic will get most of the bench minutes, along with Bradley playing backup PG.  Dooling will only get minutes if Bradley is in foul trouble (which is a distinct possiblity given his playing style).

[ChapelHillCeltic]

Ray's going to need to take something internally to help rectify proper bone growth, calcium absorption and to clean/flush out those spur deposits.

5 Hour Energy?

[TitleMaster]

I'm wondering if he could have at least one, arthroscopically removed, the one exactly orthogonal to the ligament, & still play in the 2nd round.

I think a 2 week recovery, from incremental/minor surgery is possible. Then, he just needs a few cortisone shots to get through some games, to contain any additional inflammation.