Ray Allen kicks Manu Ginobili in the groin
Ouch, bro. San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili was fighting through a Lebron James pick when he ended up on the receiving end of a Ray Allen back kick right to his balls. Ginobili was called for a foul…which was also a kick in the nuts. The post Ray Allen Back Kicked Manu Ginobili In The Balls appeared first on Ride The Pine.
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Mike Miller, Ray Allen help Heat remember identity
The San Antonio Spurs forced the Miami Heat to play big in previous games. No more.
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Allen now 1 round away from a Miami ring (Yahoo! Sports)
MIAMI (AP) — This is why Ray Allen came to Miami.
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Why Miami Heat 2013 Finals Win Would Keep Ray Allen In South Beach
Since Ray Allen left behind the halls of the University of Connecticut for the allure of the NBA, he’s played for four different franchises. A fifth could soon be on his resume if the Miami Heat don’t emerge victorious from their sure-to-be-epic clash with the San Antonio Spurs.
The all-time leader in three-pointers made has never been one to quickly abandon a team. He spent the first six seasons of his career with the Milwaukee Bucks before a midseason trade to the Seattle SuperSonics for Desmond Mason and Gary Payton. After four seasons with the Sonics, Allen moved on to the Boston Celtics, where he won the first championship of his career.
The shooting guard spent five seasons with the C’s before joining the Miami Heat. Now he’s competing for a second ring in only his first year at South Beach.
It doesn’t seem like Allen to leave a team after just one season as a hired gun, yet that’s a distinct possibility, as the Boston Globe‘s Gary Washburn reports via Twitter:
The 2-guard is on the books for $3,229,050 during the 2013-14 campaign with the Heat, but only if he decides to return. Allen ultimately controls his own fate, and he could easily opt out of his contract to become an unrestricted free agent.
He might be able to find more playing time elsewhere, but more money certainly isn’t going to be in the cards. Precious few teams will offer Allen anything more than the mid-level exception or a veteran’s minimum salary. The teams to give him a bigger contract are likely to be bottom feeders with money to burn.
If there is any motivation for Allen to leave, it will be the minutes he’s received in Erik Spoelstra’s rotation. After his rookie season, in which he played 30.9 minutes per game, Allen has never been on the court for less than 34 minutes per contest over the course of a season.
Well, until this year.
Given the tread on his tires and the quality of Miami’s starters, Allen has only logged 25.8 minutes per game. He was well aware that he’d find himself in that situation when he decided to take his talents to South Beach, but it might be a little disconcerting now that it’s actually happening.
The problem with this argument is that Allen hasn’t outperformed the expectations associated with his playing time. I talk about this a lot, but it remains valid: There’s typically a trade-off between volume and efficiency in professional basketball.
In theory, Allen’s level of performance should have increased when his time on the court decreased. The two are usually negatively correlated. However, that’s not what happened.
Allen’s 14.7 PER is the lowest it’s been since his first year in the Association, and it marks the third year in a row that he’s declined in that category. That’s not what’s supposed to be occurring, and it’s a fairly clear indication that Allen’s PER isn’t the only thing in a permanent state of decline; Allen himself is as well.
All of this means that it would be completely illogical for the future Hall of Famer to seek a new home if the Heat win a championship. It’s tough to abandon a team right after the euphoric feeling of popping some champagne in the locker room, especially when you know that team gives you the best shot of repeating the feeling the very next year.
When Pat Riley inevitably sits down and talks to Allen after the conclusion of the Finals, the conversation might go something like this:
Allen: “Hey, Pat. I’m thinking about opting out. You guys didn’t give me enough playing time.”
Riley: “I get that, Ray. But you know what? We gave you a ring, and we couldn’t have won the ring without you.”
That’s where the conversation ends. It’s a short one, mostly because it’s tough to refute Riley’s last hypothetical statement. There is no bigger motivating factor than a championship, and winning one is enough to tip the scales in favor of the Heat.
At the conclusion of their final series of the season, the Heat will have plenty of free agents to pursue, including Chris Andersen.
If they emerge on top of the NBA totem pole for the second season in a row, Allen won’t be one of them.
Note: All stats, unless otherwise indicated, come from Basketball-Reference.com.
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Ray Allen feels validated for leaving Boston Celtics
When Ray Allen turned down more money from the Celtics to sign with their hated rival Miami Heat, it obviously didn’t go over well in Boston.
Now here we are, close to one year later, and the two teams couldn’t be in a more different situation.
The Boston Celtics are sitting at home right now. They’ve been there for over a month. Their young star is rehabbing an ACL tear while their other stars are either considering retirement or wondering if they’ll be bought out, amnestied or traded. The Celtics could be looking at starting from scratch and rebuilding, with several years to go before they can legitimately contend for an NBA title again.
The Heat? They’re in the NBA finals and heavy favorites to win it. Either way, win or lose, they’ll be heavy favorites to win it again next year too. After that, it’s anyone’s guess with LeBron James’ impending free-agency. By that time, its a likely possibility that Ray Allen will be retired, playing his l…
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Allen Iverson’s cousin thinks Memphis’ recruits trump UK’s
The 6-9 Iverson is very confident in his new Tigers team
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What Can Allen Crabbe Bring to His NBA Team?
Allen Crabbe was a Junior at the University of Cal-Berkley. While at the University of Cal-Berkley, he compiled 18.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game in his final year. Bleacher Report had the opportunity to interview the top draft prospects at the 2013 NBA Combine. These players will be joining the NBA this upcoming season, so these profiles can show NBA fans the personality and character of the incoming rookies. These profiles show not only what type of player they are on the court, but also what type of person they are off the court.
Allen Crabbe Combine Results:
Name: Allen Crabbe
Height: 6’ 6.25” (in shoes)
Weight: 197 lbs
Wingspan: 6’ 11.25”
Do you think that Allen Crabbe will be on your team this season? What type of pro career do you think he will have? Let us know in the comments below.
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Ray Allen Says Returning to 2013 NBA Finals Validates Decision to Leave Celtics
Ray Allen is sorry he’s not sorry.
Now heading back to the NBA Finals as a member of the Miami Heat, Allen doesn’t regret abandoning the Boston Celtics last summer.
Immediately following Miami’s Game 7 victory over the Indiana Pacers, he admitted to Sean Deveney of Sporting News that spurning Beantown was, in fact, the right decision:
When we sat down and we talked about it, we being my family and the people that supported me over my life, we talked about being selfish and giving ourselves the best opportunity to win. We wanted to win, we didn’t want to be in a situation where we were going to struggle. Sitting here in this situation, it’s a great relief. Because sometimes you take a gamble. Your family believes in you, and we’re here and I can say that we’re in the situation we put ourselves in and we’re happy with it.
This comes on the heels of an unfounded report that suggested Allen was planning to opt out of his deal with the Heat to return to the Celtics next season.
Allen doesn’t sound like a man looking to escape his current situation, let alone escape it for what would await him in Boston. Of course, the season’s not even over and free agency has yet to begin. A reunion with the Celtics isn’t impossible.
It’s just not likely. Or even close to likely.
Sunny Miami has washed over Allen, providing a “great relief.” He wanted to win another championship, and the Heat are in a position to get him that ring.
Why then would he leave Miami for Boston after this season? Especially if the Heat win another title?
He wouldn’t. And he won’t.
Parting ways with the Heat after this season would mean only one thing: Allen is retiring. Not leaving for Boston, but leaving the game entirely.
“We know that we can see the end of the road,” said Allen of himself and his family.
Whether that road ends with this season or the next or the one after that remains to be seen. Just know that it doesn’t end with him in a Celtics jersey.
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Ray Allen Not Happy in South Beach – Wants a Return to Boston?
People close to Ray Allen claiming he is thinking about opting out of his contract hoping to return to Boston for 1 year & retire a celtic.
— NBA on NBC Boston (@NBAonNBCBoston) June 3, 2013
Ray Allen left a lot of hurt feelings among Celtics fans when he left a 2 year, $12 million dollar offer on the table and bolted for the rival Heat for half as much money. Ray cited several reasons for being unhappy including rumored trades at the trade deadline and not being involved in the offense enough. Well, it seems that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.
As with every rumor this time of year, it is just that, a rumor.
Sources seem to come out of the woodwork this time of year but, this
one’s an entirely plausible rumor. I guess he isn’t getting the
playing time or offensive opportunities that he hoped for in Miami. Add
that to the fact that Heat fans hate him,
and Ray isn’t a happy camper. I mentioned in the last Comments from
the Other …
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Ray Allen wants to go back to Boston?
People close to Ray Allen claiming he is thinking about opting out of his contract hoping to return to Boston for 1 year & retire a celtic. — NBA on NBC Boston (@NBAonNBCBoston) June 3, 2013 So this rumor that Ray Allen wants out of Miami and back to Boston is making the internet rounds today Credit FLCeltsFan for the find). Sorry, but I’m not buying it. The source is a radio show that got into some hot water reporting a blockbuster DeMarcus Cousins to the Celtics trade at the trade deadline that never happened. I hadn’t heard from them until today when I saw a few emails with their rumor. Looking at their Twitter feed they also recently reported that the Thunder would amnesty Kendrick Perkins and he’d return to Boston, which doesn’t work for two reasons. One, Sam Presti, the Thunder GM, says he’s not amnestying Perk and two even if he was amnestied the Celtics are not under the cap, so they would not be able to pick him off waivers unless all the teams …
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