Ray Allen Is Back, But The Loss Still Stings

One piece of good news to come out of the game last night was the return of Ray Allen. He looked to be right back in the swing of things. Of course, looking good individually is not the main goal.

Points taken: Allen laments missed chances - Boston Celtics Blog - ESPN Boston

Allen, who returned following a three-game absence due to a left ankle injury, scored a team high 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including a 4-of-6 mark from 3-point nation, to go along with three rebounds and three assists over nearly 36 minutes. But his performance was overshadowed by the Celtics' fourth-quarter meltdown that resulted in an unsightly 88-87 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers at TD Garden. Allen, himself, wrote off his performance almost immediately, stressing that his team's first loss in its last five games weighed on his mind most heavily. "The loss," Allen said of Sunday's greatest takeaway. "It doesn't matter, individually, what I did out there."

We don't hear the guys talk as much about Ubuntu anymore, but I think that's because they are so far beyond a catch phrase that it would be trite to keep bringing it up. Team first, we-not-me, us against the world, winning is the only goal. These things are ingrained into them. These are the things that teams like the Wizards and other lottery teams have yet to learn.

There are usually some good things to take out of any loss and lessons to learn in any win, but at the end of the day only the wins and losses count on the scoreboard.