Ray Allen fighting struggles the only way he knows how
You get the sense this is killing him. That not being able to hit shots in what might be his final postseason with the Boston Celtics is tearing chunks of flesh from his skin. That bricking free throw after free throw keeps him awake at night, in a cold sweat and praying for the return of his mobility.
Or maybe Ray Allen doesn’t pray when it comes to his shooting. Instead he hits the gym and tries to iron out the wrinkles that have kept him from making an impact in these playoffs.
Allen arrived at Boston’s practice this morning well before the team bus arrived, and he practiced his free throws. Asked later whether he will miss a game because of bone spurs in his ankle, one of the classiest professional athletes ever responded flatly, “Hell no.”
We expect Kevin Garnett to use the words “hell no,” but from Allen we normally see less of an edge.
An anger now exists within Ray Allen where previously he had been as calm as a lake on a windless day. For the first time in his career he is seen as a liability. People are clamoring that Mickael Pietrus take his minutes, or maybe Sasha Pavlovic should, or Doc Rivers should give E’Twaun Moore a chance. Allen has connected on fewer than 40 percent of his postseason shots, his defense has suffered and he’s 8 for 29 shooting in his past three games. He drilled two huge triples against the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7, but even after those Doc Rivers felt the need to express surprise at how the Celtics managed to maintain confidence in their struggling teammate.
Allen thinks he can get through these struggles like he always has gotten past adversity — by hitting the gym for an extra hour, by shooting a hundred extra free throws, by putting himself through drill after drill after drill until finally his shooting release feels right. The ankle doesn’t let him work like he’s used to, but still, if there is a way out of this maze of misses, Allen will exhaust all his resources to find it.
“You wanna give Ray a chance because you know he’ll do everything it requires,” Doc Rivers said.
Here’s to hoping he’ll find a way.
Related posts:
Celtics Blog | Jay King | May 30, 2012
The purpose of bringing AB into the lineup when Ray was out earlier this year paid dividends. Then it was accepted that Ray was to come off the bench as a sixth man which was a good decision. Now Doc has him back in the starting lineup with his injury in tow. What is the sense of that? I find myself asking this question time and time again. Why the f–k won’t he play EM? Doc is supposed to be one of the great coaches in the league. Somehow I think he owes that esteem to the Big 4. This can be such a great team this year if Doc can have a bit of faith in his bench.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Because Moore isn’t ready for the playoffs. He hasn’t gotten many minutes and hasn’t shown much when he has.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
B.S. Moore is definitely ready and could not do worse than Dooling. I say put him in the game with the starters and let’s see what happens. What is the worse that happens? We go down 15 pts? That happened without him in the game. There’s a time to get off the plank and the only way we find out is if Doc has the cojones to use him; as Doc said before the Philly series that “E’Twaun will win a playoff game for us”. How the f*** does that happen if he sits on the bench??? Use SP and MD, too! go Cs…hit the f’in boards tonight!
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
We should play Moore, but Ray should start
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Got no problem with that. EM should basically be getting KD’s minutes, too. RR is going to go off tonight paul! Go Cs…
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
So lets just run Ray into the ground like we did AB. Now that’s a much a better idea than playing young legs. Everybody has a bad game. I watched EM earlier in the season and he showed signs of brilliance. Injecting him into the lineup would be a revelation, as was AB.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Man reading this post and seeing the ESPN post on facebook of Ray in the gym 10 hours prior to the game gave me chills. I hope he is able to connect today and have a huge game. Go C’s !
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
We will win tonight.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0