Allen excelling in chemistry class

44Thrilla · Apr 28, 2010

Last season, the Celtics were nearly worn out after the first round of the playoffs. This time, the Celtics seem to be just getting warmed up during their five-game opening round elimination of Miami.
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Matchup History
Boston Celtics
vs.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Apr 4 2010 W 117-113 View
Mar 14 2010 L 104-93 View
Feb 25 2010 L 108-88 View
Oct 27 2009 W 95-89 View
Apr 12 2009 L 107-76 View
Mar 6 2009 W 105-94 View
Jan 9 2009 L 98-83 View
Oct 28 2008 W 90-85 View
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And Ray Allen received much of the benefit of what was essentially a dress rehearsal for the second-round matchup with Cleveland. Allen found a shooting rhythm in this series and he also had a chance to focus on one-on-one defending against a probable future Hall of Fame virtuoso performer in Dwyane Wade.

Allen scored 24 points and went 5 for 6 on 3-pointers, increasing his 3-point percentage to .528 for the series, as the Celtics beat Miami, 96-86, last night. Though Wade went for 31 points, Allen actually slowed him down — holding the Heat’s top offensive threat 7 points below his average for the series and 15 points less than he scored in Game 4.

Chasing Wade for five games was not easy. Allen committed his fifth foul 2:10 into the final quarter, and Wade’s foul shot cut the Celtics’ lead to 4.

The play caused Allen to recall Boston’s late-season overtime loss to Houston, when he fouled out in less than 17 minutes of playing time.

“I knew my team was counting on me, big time,’’ Allen said. “I remember, I don’t know what game it was, I fouled out — the last foul was very questionable but I fouled out nonetheless. Down the stretch we needed somebody to make free throws, we needed some shots to be made — and I’m on the bench. I couldn’t help the team. And that’s all I could think about, was this team, they need me in the game. Even if I’m just sitting on the sideline, it gives [Rajon] Rondo a huge gap to penetrate and maybe they shade me more than they shade Paul [Pierce], so it gives Paul a little more one-on-one action.’’

Though Allen was burdened by foul trouble, he did not allow Wade any more meaningful points — Wade would convert only a 3-point play in the final 9:50 of play. Allen even wisely allowed Joel Anthony an uncontested dunk, cutting Miami’s deficit to 88-78 with 4:38 remaining. As it turned out, the Celtics would not need any more points to close out the series, but that was not known at the time.

“I’ve guarded [Allen] Iverson, Kobe [Bryant] in the playoffs,’’ Allen said while viewing the final quarter of the Cleveland-Chicago game, “and I think D. Wade was probably the toughest from the standpoint he has the ball . . . every moment he’s trying to crack the pick and roll, he’s trying to crack my defense. There was no point where I wasn’t alert. At no point was I at rest on defense.

“Playoffs are all about matchups. I was in the hot seat for the most part, defensively, and I think Paul gets moved into it now, for the second round. He got his practice in the fourth quarter. It’s pretty much the same we’re going to deal with, from Wade to LeBron [James], on the ball. The difference I see is that [the Cavaliers’] bigs roll more so they’re going to put more pressure on our weak-side defense. So, we can’t allow those guys to get off and shoot threes, but at the same time, we can’t take our eye off what LeBron is doing.

“I love a challenge. It’s always great to be tested, all of us. It’s about us coming together as a team and I think each round — when we won the whole thing, each round you saw the chemistry pick up even more from one round to the next. You start to realize what this is all about, it’s bigger than us. You see light at the end of the tunnel, and each game you win it gets closer and closer. So, we know it gets tougher and we absolve ourselves of any individualism or selfishness. From now on, what we do is strictly for the team, whether on the court or off the court.’’
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http://www.boston.com/sports/basket...010/04/28/allen_excelling_in_chemistry_class/

huevonkiller · Apr 28, 2010

Allen is on fire right now, much better than in the regular season so far.

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