Ray Allen Likely Out Against Charlotte

It’s actually somewhat a relief..Ray Ray has been off his game lately and now we may know the answer..as wdleehi said, hopefully this is minor…

Being the oldest and (based on body size and previous injury history) the most fragile of the Big 3 Doc really needs to do a better job of limiting Ray’s minutes. Too many times this year Ray has played the full 1st quarter and the beginning of the 2nd which seems to wear him out for the rest of the game. Ray came back on fire after taking 2 games off earlier in the year and it seems clear to me that a more rested Ray is a better Ray. Personally I hope by next year that TA will be consistent enough that we can bring Ray off the bench in a Manu-type role and let him fire away for 28-32 minutes a game. I hope Doc will at least consider that.

I think I speak for everyone when I say, fudge.

Hopefully this is a temporary situation.

I’ve always thought Ray would make a great 6th man on this team. Tony seems to be much more engaged when he starts for whatever reason.

Also seems like a great opportunity to squeeze Pruitt in for a few minutes.

We’ve quite a few games missed to injury so far this year but we keep winning. As long as Pierce and Garnett are OK we’ll be fine during the regular season. We’ll need everyone during the playoffs. Ray’s minutes really do need to be reduced. On Back to backs they should be reduced a lot.

I’d like to see more of Pruitt too. He looks like a player and he sure can shoot.

I knew something was definitely wrong……..

Ray has definitely struggled a bit in that 3 week (nearly monthlong) slump when he was supposedly injured with the ankle and missed the last 2 games of it before coming back for the 1st Pistons game, and has now struggled again MIGHTILY for the past 3 games…..

but the sooner he gets back to the form that we saw for the first 6 games of the season, the better (For our team more than anything else)……. I also think he is still adjusting. Paul Pierce has the role on this team that Ray had in Seattle, so Pierce has the ball in his hands and is the primary playmaker/scorer… (And we dont play the same way we did in the first 6 or 7 games of the season, when we “Passed because you knew you’d get it back” and were “Almost too unselfish”, and all big 3 were ROLLING and we blew everybody out…). It is an adjustment for Ray definitely but just off his rep he does so much for spacing the floor and diverting the defense/taking alot of the defenses attention (That opens up a ton for KG/Pierce and the roleplayers), plus he plays unselfishly/makes the right play, plays good defense, and is huge in the clutch.

I think Age also may have to do with his fall-off, but maybe not (Hopefully its not it and we still have him in his late prime). There are still 50 games left, so we will see (Hopefully last season wasnt the last season of his prime). I have been down on him at times, but he has unquestionably helped this team and 30-3 is something to be EXTREMELY happy about. If Ray regains the form in which he played for the first 2 weeks of the season or how he played coming back from his 2 games off I will be extremely happy and our team will be MUCH better. He’s been a great player for a long time, so hopefully he figures it out (Even if he contributes with a lil better than his december numbers I would be pretty happy with him as our 3rd option: 17.9ppg/4rpg/3apg on 44.5fg and 39 3p Fg……. or if he puts up his november numbers I would be extremely happy: 20.1ppg/4.6rpg/3.7apg on 42fg and 37 3pfg….. the november numbers wit a bit better percentage’s would be ideal)…..

(I also agree want to point out that Ray is not a Rip Hamilton, so we shouldnt use him that way. He is more of a Joe Johnson/Brandon Roy. If you watch how Brandon Roy is playing right now: that is the exact role ray had/exact way that Ray played on the 05 Sonics under Nate Mcmillan when he led them to 55 wins and the 2nd round in a stacked west and made 2nd team all-nba and finished 8th for the MVP award……) I’ve been dissapointed at times too though w/ Ray I admit.

But yeah, I knew it would happen because I’ve seen it happen on the spurs to Ginobili, Parker, and even Duncan. And on the Pistons to Sheed Chauncey Rip and Prince, and the Suns to Nash, Amare and Marion…. so I knew it would happen on a great team with 3 allstars and such great talent. Its bound to happen, period. Just help in other ways until you get back on track, great players usually figure it out.

But, 30-3….. wow. I AM EXTREMELY EXTREMELY HAPPY WITH MY TEAM!

Frankly, I’d like to see Ray Allen’s minutes cut back extensively for the rest of the regular season. Play him and Tony Allen each half the game (Tony could use the continued playing time). Save Ray for the playoffs when his clutch shooting will really pay off. I’m pretty sure we’re going to have a stellar record whether or not Ray plays heavy minutes, so let’s keep him healthy.

yea, i hope the hold ray out for as long as it takes for him to get healthy. thats the nice thing about having a big lead. the red sox benefited from it too in the middle of the season with curt.

when you 29-3, you can sit him for as many as you want, and not worry about it.

I’m coming around on the start Tony Allen role. Partly because it would stabilize TA’s minutes. Partly because it would reduce Ray Allen’s minutes. And finally because it would allow Ray Allen to play combo guard on the team. A roll he could play and act as a great 6th man. It would also mean Pierce doesn’t have to guard the better SF/SG in the beginning of the game. I also think Ray Allen guarding the other team’s PG is okay because he’s a smart defender and can use his size to challenge shots and prevent post ups.

As for the injury, tough to tell from here, sounds like a nerve issue from the neck, but I know very little of CTS. Hopefully its just something muscular flamed up (maybe from the Odom hit?) and pinching off the nerve in the neck.

From what I have heard Ray takes hundred or more shots everyday. Maybe the medical people will have him limit his number of shots after he recovers. Similar to a pitcher in baseball. This injury will probably generate the Celtics to take a look for a additional veteran 6’5" shooting or point guard, especially if progress is not made in a week. Hopefully he is better soon because he is great player and person.

I’m fine with giving Ray the next 2 games off. As long as Garnett and Pierce are there I feel comfortable. House and TA seem to pick up Ray’s duties fine anyhow.

I hope you are wrong too but I am also concerned……. hopefully its just the injuries and he will get thru them (He struggled playing thru the ankle injury from nov 17th thru dec 12 before finally getting it chcked and Doc having him sit out 2 games, then he comes bck and plays very well up until about 6 days ago when this injury occurred and then struggled mightily while playing thru it for the last 3 games…… if you look at his numbers all combined besides those 2 stretches they are ALOT better than his overall numbers. In the 18 games where playing thru injury wasnt a factor he has a PER of 19.2 and numbers of 19.3 ppg/4.7rpg/3.6apg on 45.2fg and 393p fg………. far cry from his numbers from the last 3 games and the nov 17-dec 12 stretch combined, VERY FAR CRY…..)

also I find myself extremely pissed off that this injury’s LANDMARK DATE of happening just happens to be when Lamar Odom threw that cheapshot at Killer Ray…. he was playing well since he came back into the lineup for the first matchup with Detroit all the way thru that last game of the roadtrip vs the lakers, and seemed to be back on track……. dammit Lamar!!!! DAMN LAKERS!!!!

Hopefully we see the Ray Allen that we saw for the first 2 or 3 weeks of the season sometime soon. (We’ll need him to beat San Antonio in a 7 game series and Detroit as well)….

But I admit that I am concerned as well Andy Jick.

(Also I agree with a few of you that mentioned playing Ray 30 minutes a night and letting Tony play 18 minutes as his sub giving him rest….. of course Tony will get around 25 minutes a night and be on the floor with Ray at times as well… but you know what I mean.)

I think Ray is definitely slipping, as most 2 guards do at his age. But how could you ever say this will end up being a bad trade if you are admitting it is ultimately what persuaded KG to approve a trade to Boston? Not to mention the pick we got along with him which we used to pick Big Baby is looking pretty good right now too.

We have the depth and talent to allow some slippage from Ray’s 25 ppg and 50 point game days. That is the beauty of our team now, had Ray stayed the main guy in Seattle, the drop off would affect the team more dramatically, but here, he can play a few more years, being a productive shooter off the bench, playing an important, Michael Finley-type role for the C’s in more limited minutes and not needing to be as productive as he was in his best years.

will definitely be interesting to see how ta responds over the next 2games.

just let him rest as long as he needs to. we could go .500 the rest of the way and still win 50 or more games. just let Ray Allen rest for 2 maybe even 3 weeks. Give Garnett a week or two off sometime before March when the shcedule gets really tough. These guys arent getting any younger. its imperative that they have fresh legs in the playoffs

if there ever was a trap game this is it. so be it. i just hope doc does not leave pp out there 45 mins.rest ray rest baby and don’t kill what you have. i think ray has been a major contributor to the team both sides of the ball. it’s a long season and the nicks come . with a 29-3, record we have the luxury of taking care of our guys before things get serious. if we do not have baby and ray against charlotte and we don’t overextend our seniors and we win- that will be the ultimate statement to the league about what a great team this is.

I don’t see Ray Allen “slipping” at all…I don’t think a lot of Celtics fans actually watched Ray a great deal in Seattle…he’s always been and up-and-down shooter, but has relied on volume of touches to keep his numbers up high…now that he’s getting less touches his shooting streaks are more pronounced….but he’s still playing at a high level and contributing 17-25 points every night…

…I think its panic to take a 2 game absence for a twisted ankle and a likely 2-3 game absence for a pinched nerve and equate that to fragility and a need to either drastically cut back his minutes or play him off the bench…

Most players in the league don’t play 82 games…if Ray is over 70 games played and is fully functional in the playoffs that’s about par for the course for most players in the league…guys miss games, lets not label things as trends until they are trends…

HA! Ray Allen has a pinched nerve and Bob spins it into possible carpel tunnel syndrome? you’re out of your mind!

wat would be ur top 5 startes for the eastern all-star