Alex Curtis-Slep from NBA Tipoff.com fame, who many of you may also know as the founder/writer of the basketball blog Basketball Notes by Alex is covering all things NBA for The Hoop Doctors.
Sure, it was only one playoff game. But Ray Allen went a dreadful 1-12 from the field and his performance wasn’t good enough for the Celtics to win. You can’t blame him for the loss, but there is something uncharacteristic about the way he performed. The good news for Celtics fans is he can change that.
Confidence
I would love to be a basketball player with Ray Allen’s ability. He can shoot the lights out, has one of the quickest releases in the NBA and most people forget that he can do more than shoot. While he has these strengths, his confidence dwindles as his performance does. This also happened early in last year’s postseason; this is becoming a scary trend for Boston. Even
though he may miss a few shots, he must keep his head up. His teammates need to remind him of all that he’s done and all that he’s going to do to help them fight to repeat.
While his team can try to help him, ultimately Ray’s going to have to step it up. One thing he should do next game is get to the cup early. Everyone knows that when you get a few easy buckets, you can get your outside shot back. Looking at the shot chart from game 1, he took a majority of his shots from the outside, while his one bucket came in the paint. He needs to get three or four close opportunities a game (good scoring chances, not just a shot in the paint).
Doc should run an isolation play with Ray in the post; Ben Gordon should have a tough time guarding that. Also, I would try some back cuts involving Ray. Getting easy shots for Ray should be the early offensive focus in game 2.
In the event that Ray starts 0-4 from the field or something close to that, I would continue to run plays for him. He must get his groove back in this round, they can’t afford to lose two games at home. The coaching staff should be prepared for another sluggish shooting performance from Ray. Not saying that it’s going to happen, but they need to be prepared to fight
through his slump.
As good or bad as Ray plays; all he can do is fight. If he goes out and gives it his all; the C’s will live with the results. If it means another 1-9 performance, Boston may be gone quickly. But these are the players they have and it’s not changing; so they have to trust what they have. With trust and confidence comes success, and Ray Allen must exude confidence for the Celtics to have a chance.
