I disagree. I think Paul is the most forgotton and underappreciated. People do appreciate Ray Allen and call him a great player. People outside of Boston and even still some Boston fans still don’t appreciate Paul as a great player.

i agree. long live uconn bb and jim calhoun. he is playing unselfish- getting too many minutes- and playing good d in the team concept. he is not getting a lot of credit for the quick switching he is doing out there in the periphery. he also gets some tough and timely boards.

If you listen to opposing team’s announcers, I don’t think Allen is overlooked at all. Maybe he’s not as well known in Boston, but he gets tremendous respect around the league.

Hey, people are saying Big 3, not Big 2. For him to be included in something called the new Big 3, you can’t say he’s forgotten.

It’s been a while for me too, but I think Rick Fox took him to the room and dropped him off. Cue the “Oh Jesus” moans. :)

Also, on NBATV last night they gave Ray the nickname “A drop of golden sun”. I think because he’s been dropping 3’s on cats like water. I thought it was kinda funny though.

Very well written Jeff.

these articles about the below-the-radar Ray Allen are somewhat no-win, as they only reveal the subjective nature of NBA fan-hood. Perhaps Ray Allen is not as well known to you or most Celtics fans, but league-wide he’s a huge star. He’s been in more all-star games than Pierce and has been on more all-NBA teams, so for the league-wide basketball fan, he’s more a marquee name. Remember, Kevin Garnett did not agree to come to this team to play with Pierce, he agreed once Ray Allen came aboard.

As for his actual role on this team, you are correct to term him the 3rd amigo, simply because of his more advanced age and the fact that he’s more acclimated to team ball than Pierce, he’s embraced the role of the 3rd option. But I would imagine that if a poll was taken amongst casual basketball fans about the name recognition of the big three, Garnett would be the most recognized name, followed by Ray Allen. Also, as far as the national media is concerned, Ray Allen is not lost in the shuffle, and many commentators go out of there way to suggest that Ray is at least as good as Pierce, if not better.

…there is no “third option” on this team, that should be clear…there are 3 first options and on any given night one of the three will be the go-to option…

…but Ray Allen WAS drastically underrated by this message board and Celtics fans in general…I was constantly shocked by what I read about Ray Allen when he was traded here…even when KG was acquired Allen continued to be looked at as a “spot shooter” who was a nice 3rd option to the other two…absurd…

Ray Allen has been a franchise player in this league and carried the load for his team numerous times..you can’t do that by being a one-dimensional player…Ray Allen was a consistent playmaker for Seattle, frequently putting up triple-double numbers as the main man…

Now, people are seeing how effortlessly he can play and how much more he can do that just rely on others to create shots for him…having him on this team is a tremendous luxury and the more he plays the more he’ll grow in the minds of Celtics fans…

I didn’t know all that much about him as a pro, but remembered him as a consummate college player. He’s very highly regarded in national broadcasts I’ve been watching, but I think we’re splitting hairs. All three of these guys have been a little shortchanged in the media because of limited team success.

Whatever Ray Allen is (1,2,3…)he fits in perfectly on this team and makes the extraordinary look easy and his game is anything but one-dimensional from what I see so far.

I agree. People made Ray Allen out to be like Alan Houston in that he’d only get 1 rebound and 0 assists a night. He’s better than that…

that was a great breakdown of why Ray Allen aka Jesus Shuttlesworth is so good. But truthfully all you had to say was Chasey Lain and Jill Kelly.

GAME. SET. MATCH.

Bob Dylan and Bill from Boston,
You both said what I was attempting to say … you just said it better.

Ray has been a great player for quite awhile. But Ray’s game itself is low-key, watch him in an all-star game he always scores in double figures out there, one time he was the leading scorer I think (on the West but they lost) but his name wasn’t even floated for MVP. His game is so subtle you never know he’s affecting it unless you pay attention. In Milwaukee people were focusing on Big Dawg, and in Seattle they were focusing on Rashard Lewis.