Why are we forgetting that Ray was our worst defender?

[crownsy]

Ray Allen's offense has gotten a lot less efficient, just in terms of how long it takes him to get open.  If Miami wants to run plays for him where he's running off a half-dozen screens and eating up the shot clock and keep the ball out of LeBron/Wade's hands, go right ahead.  How many defenders are better than AB at sticking with their guy, getting through screens and staying on the shooting hand than AB?  Ray'll still get some shots off, but he's going to work for them.  

well he won't necessarily be running off screens in miami. they get better dribble penetration than the C's offense, so Ray just needs to hang by the 3 point line and be ready to shoot. The Heat had 3 point shooters open all playoffs long, and it wasn't because of multiple screens.

Right, because they were above average shooters, and teams were willing to gamble. Teams might not be quite as willing to take thier chances with letting ray just hang out at the three point line.

That said, he's going to get easy open looks without running through screens, way more than he would here.

[Lightskinsmurf]

.....and why are we forgetting that Ray was our BEST Shooter?

Yeah and it took 20seconds to get him open. Trust me at this stage of rays career he can be easily replaced.

[GreenFaith1819]

.....and why are we forgetting that Ray was our BEST Shooter?

Yeah and it took 20seconds to get him open. Trust me at this stage of rays career he can be easily replaced.

....but those 20 secs were usually worth it.

And please tell me who out there will replace Ray's shooting?

[Snakehead]

.....and why are we forgetting that Ray was our BEST Shooter?

Yeah and it took 20seconds to get him open. Trust me at this stage of rays career he can be easily replaced.

....but those 20 secs were usually worth it.

And please tell me who out there will replace Ray's shooting?

Jason Terry.  He's not as good but he's a good shooter and the thing is he can get his own shot off the dribble.  He doesn't need the screen routine Ray did as much.

If we get Lee that's another shooter too.




I will say on this topic though, Ray is not a bad defender.  He didn't look too great in the playoffs but he was injured.  He is a quality defender when healthy.

[Lightskinsmurf]

.....and why are we forgetting that Ray was our BEST Shooter?

Yeah and it took 20seconds to get him open. Trust me at this stage of rays career he can be easily replaced.

....but those 20 secs were usually worth it.

And please tell me who out there will replace Ray's shooting?

Rays shooting doesn't make up for his horrible defense. LEE is an upgrade over ray and our team is better if we get him opposed to keeping ray. Also terry can hit 3's with the best of them.

[ScottHow]

Ray's defense is a concern if he is starting playing 30+ minutes. If he's off the bench, or if he stayed behind Bradley in a lesser role his D wouldn't be an issue.

[Lightskinsmurf]

His D is an issue whenever hes on the court. I can't wait to see AB tear him apart when we play miami.

[TheBig5]

The only good thing about Ray was his elite 3-point shooting, everything else wasn't really impressive. Not knocking him it is just the truth. I would have liked it if he had come back for cheap, but whatever.

[tonyto3690]

Ray started shooting hot when the rest of the NBA was out of shape and couldn't keep up with him.

Then the league worked its way back into shape and not only was his defense well below acceptable, his offense was just a detriment to the team.

Yeah, sure he'd be great in transition hitting wide open 3s.  But 95% of his production came off painstaking screens and flawless passing from Rondo.  He was completely dependent on the execution of the offense.  It slowed us down.  It made us old, slow, and teetering on the brink of complete offensive melt down.

Bradley on the other hand was a lock down defender.  He could score when the play wasn't designed for him.  We weren't wasting 20 seconds of shot clock trying to get Ray a contested 3 point shot.  Bradley could create easy layups for himself and teammates.  Ray couldn't do either.


I loved Ray, he was severely underrated as a defender from 07-10 but the past two seasons he started blatantly declining and this past season he just completely fell of the cliff.

[TripleOT]

In Miami, Ray Allen is going to stand behind the three point line a la Battier, Miller, and Jones, and shoot threes off kickout passes or the swinging of the basketball after a drive by one of the Big 2. 

Good thing, because his off the dribble game is garbage.  In RA's tenure in Boston, he had to be assisted more than my great grandma down the hill in my backyard.  This past year 77% of his hoops were assisted.  His last year before joining the Cs 46% of his buckets came with a helper.

Ray Allen is a different player than the one who got here in the fall of 2007.  He's not much of a defender, and is hideous in transition.  He can't square up on someone and drive anymore.  He's basically the guy they need him to be in Miami, a standstill three point shooter.   

[hpantazo]

In Miami, Ray Allen is going to stand behind the three point line a la Battier, Miller, and Jones, and shoot threes off kickout passes or the swinging of the basketball after a drive by one of the Big 2. 

Good thing, because his off the dribble game is garbage.  In RA's tenure in Boston, he had to be assisted more than my great grandma down the hill in my backyard.  This past year 77% of his hoops were assisted.  His last year before joining the Cs 46% of his buckets came with a helper.

Ray Allen is a different player than the one who got here in the fall of 2007.  He's not much of a defender, and is hideous in transition.  He can't square up on someone and drive anymore.  He's basically the guy they need him to be in Miami, a standstill three point shooter.   

This is all spot on, he was horrendous in transition to the point where I cringed every time he had the ball on a fast break, not to mention his uncanny ability to dribble himself into trouble and throw the ball away every time he took more than 3 dribbles.

I really think in the end he knows all this, and that's the main reason he decided to go to miami instead of staying here, he wants to save face for his deteriorating game.

[Celtics18]

Ray's not that bad a defender, but, yes, he probably was our worst defender. 

[Celtics4ever]

There will only be one ball in MIA.  They have trouble with it sometimes already.   Could get worse with Ray turning prima donna.

[fandrew]

None of this really matters anymore. Once the season starts we will see how much better or worse we are, and if he actually helps or hinders the Heat. My money is he finds the grass is not so greener on the other side.