By Larry Brown | June 18, 2013 - Posted in Basketball
Where would the Miami Heat be without Ray Allen? The old man proved that at 37, he still has game.
Allen saved the Heat’s season with a clutch 3-pointer during a mad scramble with 5.2 seconds left that tied the game at 95. The San Antonio Spurs had a 5-point lead (94-89) with 22 seconds left and seemed like a lock to win the title. But LeBron James hit a three, and then the Heat fouled Kawhi Leonard. Leonard missed one of two free throws to keep it a 1-possession game.
After making the previous 3-pointer, James decided to try his hand at one again. He missed and, with Tim Duncan on the bench, Chris Bosh was able to grab the offensive board and find Allen, who stepped back into the corner for the wild three. Jesus Shuttlesworth then made the shot of the series to send the game to OT, where Miami won 103-100.
The officials reviewed the play to see if Allen was behind the line when he attempted his three, and there was no doubt:
By Larry Brown | May 28, 2013 - Posted in Basketball
Lance Stephenson was off to another hot start for the Indiana Pacers in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals on Tuesday, but he did get into it with Ray Allen for a blatant flop.
Stephenson hit a runner just before the first quarter of the game ended. After he made the shot, he appeared to get hit with an elbow from Allen. Stephenson reacted as if he had been hit by the elbow, which he wasn’t.
The flop by Stephenson comes at a notable time in the series; LeBron James was criticized for supposedly flopping against the Chicago Bulls, and he was quoted before the game saying that it can give a team a competitive advantage. If James endorses the art of embellishing contact, then he can’t be mad at Stephenson, can he?
By Larry Brown | May 8, 2013 - Posted in Basketball
LeBron James has improved his game so much that he really has no weakness. His defense is outstanding, his passing and rebounding is stellar like usual, he’s improved his offensive efficiency, and he’s even become a good outside shooter. But the one area James feels he needs to improve is free throw shooting.
James is a career 74.7 percent free throw shooter. His highest percentage of his career was when he shot 78 percent from the line in the 2008-2009 season. He’s never made 80 percent of his free throws for a regular or postseason, but he’s looking to change that.
James has been working with teammate Ray Allen, who is sixth all time in NBA career free-throw percentage (.8936), on improving his free throws. He’s even adopted his teammate’s routine at the line:
“I don’t know if he adopted my routine, I think he just goes to what’s comfortable for him. Looks good. He missed two free throws [last night] but he looks like he has a greater deal of confidence when he’s on the line,” Allen told the Heat’s website on Tuesday. “Just how he shoots it looks a lot more fluid. Our little free throw games, they’re definitely helping him.”
James and Allen compete against each other with shooting games at practices, and LeBron has even won their outside shooting competitions sometimes. He’s looking to make that happen with free throws, too.
He went 7-of-9 at the line on Monday doing the Allen routine. That’s not a bad number for him.
If you look at James’ career stats, you’ll notice that he has improved on his numbers almost year after year. It’s hard not to appreciate his desire to get better.
By Steve DelVecchio | March 26, 2013 - Posted in Basketball
The Miami Heat seem to be having a whole lot of fun at the moment, and why wouldn’t they be? Winning is always a good time, and the Heat have ripped off 27 straight victories. Their last loss came on Feb. 1. For those of you who aren’t keeping track, it’s March 26.
During their reign of terror throughout the NBA, the Heat have mastered the art of videobombing and photobombing. Chris Bosh is easily the most talented player on the team when it comes to interrupting interviews, but LeBron James did a fantastic job of it after Monday’s win over the Orlando Magic when he popped in on Ray Allen.
It’s all about the element of surprise, and LeBron came out of nowhere. Couple that with the Cabbage Patch kid face and I’m sure Bosh is very proud of his teammate. I don’t know what has come over me, but the Heat are almost likable at this point. I still think Dwyane Wade is a douche, but LeBron has done a great job of repairing his image with moments like this and Bosh’s antics are starting to grow on me. Needless to say, I don’t enjoy this feeling.
By Larry Brown | March 4, 2013 - Posted in Basketball
JJ Barea was ejected for deliberately pushing Ray Allen during the Miami Heat’s 97-81 win over the Timberwolves in Minnesota Monday.
Barea felt like Allen had bumped (or elbowed) him while backing him down beyond the 3-point line with just over eight minutes left in the game and the Heat up 76-70. He responded by pushing Allen to the ground a few seconds later, causing a scuffle between the teams.
Barea, who at 6-foot-0 is the smallest player on the floor, was charged with a flagrant 2 foul, which calls for an automatic ejection.
During an interview on NBA TV after the game, Allen called Barea’s move “bush league.”
“Yeah, I thought it was a bush-league move by Barea, just kind of leveling me like that,” Allen told NBA TV’s Brent Barry. “I don’t care who you are in the league, you’ve got to defend yourself. You play the game the right way and I try to do that in my career. He got ejected for I think due purpose.”
“He hit me with an elbow almost close to my neck,” Barea complained after the game, per Eye on Basketball. “That’s part of the game and then I just gave him a bump back. I’ve been playing in the NBA for seven years. I’ve been hit, I get hit harder than that every night. I don’t get up crying, wanting to fight. (Former Lakers center Andrew) Bynum almost knocked me out for the rest of my life. I didn’t get up crying. You know? It’s a little bump so it’s part of the game. Don’t be like that. That’s why the refs got all upset about it but it’s just a little bump.
“That was terrible,” he said. “I get hit harder than that every night in the NBA.”
Allen had 13 points in 26 minutes, while Barea had four points, four rebounds, and four assists in 21 minutes before his ejection.
Given his history of being on the receiving end of cheap shots (as he referenced in the quote above), you would think Barea would be above such behavior. Apparently he’s not.
By Steve DelVecchio | December 20, 2012 - Posted in Basketball
Jason Terry has been trying to become one of the vocal leaders of the Boston Celtics since coming to the team this past offseason, but by the numbers it doesn’t appear he has been all that effective. The Celtics are 13-12 and have been incredibly inconsistent, both offensively and defensively. Terry’s play has been the same.
Paul Pierce scored a season-high 40 points on Wednesday night in a win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. After the game, Terry praised the Celtics’ captain while throwing a seemingly senseless jab at Ray Allen.
“His (Pierce) willingness to stick through the tough times and not just jump off, ‘I’m out of here! I’m going to join forces with Kobe (Bryant),’ or ‘I’m going to play with Dwyane Wade’ — that’s a shot right there,” Terry said according to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com.
Terry is averaging 11.4 points and 2.2. assists per game this season. The Celtics have needed him to step up in a number of situations with Avery Bradley injured, and he has not consistently done that. He has done plenty of talking and shown he is a good teammate, but his play has to improve if Boston plans to contend again in the Eastern Conference.
Allen is averaging 11.9 points per game, so the scoring numbers are similar. However, he is shooting a whopping 47% from beyond the arc and has hit a number of clutch shots for the 16-6 Miami Heat. Allen left more money on the table to join the Heat to chase a championship. Many were understandably upset with his decision, but at the moment it looks like it was the right one if he wants to win another ring. If Terry really wants to stick it to Ray, he can start by helping the Celtics win more games.
By Larry Brown | October 30, 2012 - Posted in Basketball
Ray Allen checked into his first game as a member of the Miami Heat with 2:45 left in the first quarter of the team’s season-opening game against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night.
Allen, who spent five season with the Celtics but had a bad breakup as he chose to sign with the rival team, tried to give a warm greeting to his former team. He gave handshakes to his former coaches, and even embraced head coach Doc Rivers for a hug. But when he tried to give a handshake and some love to Kevin Garnett, he was ignored.
Garnett deep down probably has love for his former teammate, but he is all business when he gets on the court. His refusal to acknowledge Allen is also no surprise given his comments about his former teammate last month.
Allen hit a three-pointer a minute after entering the game, and he heard “We love Ray” chants after going to the free throw line in the final minute of the quarter. He finished with 19 points in the Heat’s 120-107 win. He was 5-for-7 from the field including 2-of-3 on three-pointers, and 7-for-8 on free throws.
Allen didn’t seem to be hurt by Garnett giving him the cold shoulder.
“That’s just KG. He probably didn’t even see me coming because his head’s down the whole time on the bench,” Allen told TNT’s Craig Sager after the game.
“I love those guys. I played with them for five years — we won a championship together. I can’t say enough good things about them and about the city of Boston.”
