Sports Handicapping Article

Time to Bench Ray Allen?

I have a beef with a couple of NBA coaches. I love Byron Scott and Doc Rivers. But, they are wrong and need to be told so. They are playing players that are hurting their teams.

Bench Peja Stojakovic. Better yet, get rid of him. Yes, I know Peja and the Hornets are done for the season and that the title of this article talks about Ray Allen. But, let me start with Scott and Peja.

Peja was a major reason the Spurs are going to the Conference Finals. This supposed great shooter couldn’t do anything against the Spurs once they put a good defender (Bruce Bowen) on him. He was effectively neutered. He’s not a player who can create a shot but he still tried. He lofted up some of the worst forced shots we have seen in recent memory and was not only not benched, but he was rewarded with more playing time. In the all-critical Game 7, he played 44 minutes, shooting 3-for-11, contributing 7 points. It’s not like he can play defense to compensate for poor shooting. The bottom line was he should not have been on the floor after game 5 and if he was, he should have been yanked after demonstrating that he was going to continue to force terrible shots and miss. Shame on you Byron Scott for failing to make changes that might have been the difference between a second round win vs. loss.

Now, on to Ray Allen. I love what the Celtics have done this year. During the regular season this team was nearly unbeatable. They posted the best record in the NBA including victories over the West’s best teams throughout the course of the year. Now they are struggling in the playoffs, going to seven games in the first two rounds. They averaged around 100 points per game during the regular season but have gotten just 91.6 in the playoffs. Versus Cleveland they averaged just 84 ppg. What has changed?

Ray Allen has changed. A guy known as one of the best shooters in the history of the game averaged 17.4 ppg during the regular season and it was one of the primary reasons the Celtics posted 66 wins. But, in the playoffs he is hitting just 38.5% from the field and his production has dropped off by 5 points per game. He’s been a non-threat from beyond the arc, even on wide open looks.

But it’s worse than that. His struggles have caused a ripple effect that I believe has led to more of Boston’s offensive woes. With Allen as a threat (especially from three) virtually gone, defenders can now focus more on Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. With both Allen, Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins on the floor, the Cleveland defense could focus five defenders on Garnett and Pierce. The Celtics all season were a team of two role players who were non-threats offensively and "the big three" (Rondo and Perkins). Now that the "big three" has turned into "the big two," it’s relatively easy to defend this team. So, while Allen’s offense has dropped off 5 points, the effect has been much bigger. And, Allen is not a defensive stalwart. So, if his offense isn’t there, he’s a severe liability to have on the court.

Why is Allen off? Is it his age? Just a slump? Are his family off-the-court issues distracting him? Only he knows. In the end, it doesn’t matter. What matters is he is way off and his team is struggling as a result.

So, Doc, what are you going to do? Are you going to keep your head buried in the sand as you did last series? Are you just going to defer to Allen since he has such a long history of great shooting and people respect him? That’s the easy thing to do. But, it’s the wrong thing, especially as the Celtics head into the Conference Finals against one of the best defensive and savvy teams in the league.

If I am Doc, I have a discussion with Allen before game one against the Pistons. I tell him that he is not performing at a level that his team needs him to. I tell him that the team is counting on him to break out of his slump in game one and we have confidence he can do it. But, if he does not, his minutes are going to be limited and that he may be replaced in the starting lineup by Eddie House. Will Allen like it? No. But, he will respect it.

The team needs to come before Allen’s feelings, and so far Doc hasn’t done that. I hope he wakes up and does the tough, but necessary thing. If Allen is struggling in game one, put him on the bench Doc.