Ray Allen is Good

When the Boston Celtics pulled the trigger on a deal that sent Delonte West, Wally Szczerbiak and Jeff Green to the Seattle SuperSonics for Ray Allen and Glen Davis I was at the very least intrigued. I immediately looked at the pros and cons of the deal, focusing on Allen in the process.

Pros

• One of the greatest 3 point shooters in NBA history.
  
• He's a much better player than Szczerbiak.

Cons

• Allen is in his 30s.
  
• He had ankle trouble last season.
  
• Not a lock down defender.
  
• What does he do besides shoot?
  
• Delonte West, arguably the funniest guy in the NBA, is gone.
  
• Donny Marshall will increase his UConn references, if that is even possible.

Four months and five regular season games later and it looks like I completely underestimated the Allen trade. It also looks like I should have my blogging license revoked for typing that the deal would ultimately be judged by how good Jeff Green ended up being. That's right Jeff Green of the 0-7 SuperSonics. But that's a whole other story. Back to the trade. Granted it will never be Robert Parish and the third pick in the draft (Kevin McHale) for Joe Barry Carroll and Rickey Brown. And I should not have to even point out that is no Cliff Hagan and Ed Macauley for the second pick in the draft (Bill Russell). But Allen's arrival was one of the most important acquisitions in franchise history.

For starters my cons list was incredibly flawed. While Allen is not the second coming of Scottie Pippen, he's a much better defender than I thought. The question, "What does he do besides shoot?" is downright laughable. Three point assassin. Check. Foul shooting clinic. Check. One of the smoothest guys in the league driving to the hoop and finishing in the lane. Check. Meanwhile, I like Delonte West's bizarre sense of humor but not as much as I like watching a team win games. Donny Marshall will make UConn references whenever the hell he wants, Ray Allen or not. (Notice how ignored the first two bullet points on that list. I'm not going to be the guy that jinxes that one.) But it goes well beyond my original list of cons.

For starters Kevin Garnett was not joining forces with Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, Kendrick Perkins, Leon Powe, Brian Scalabrine and a bunch of other guys not named Ray Allen to take on the Eastern Conference. That in and of it self should show how important Allen's arrival was. And yet his aforementioned game takes the deal to a whole other level. His efficiency as a scorer, ability to carry the scoring load at times, willingness to fit within the offense and the fact that he scares the living hell out of opponents and their fans from deep make him the ideal teammate. Over the next few months people are going to realize how ridiculously good Garnett is over and over again while others continuously debate what Pierce actually brings to the table. For the record I say a lot. Just don't forget how important Ray Allen is. And that he went to UConn. No really he played for Jim Calhoun.