Ray Allen facing "serious" off-court family issues / Ray gripes to media

[TripleOT]

Ray's going to need the witness protection program if he keeps up this poor play 

Seriously, Ray had been dealing with this issue for a while now, and it didn't seem to affect his play. I was at the game yesterday, and he was extremely passive on the court.  I'd be more apt to believe that he's injured than distracted by family troubles. 

[CoachBo]

Having been through some very serious and stressful family events while still trying to be the best I could at work, I feel for Ray. I wish him all the best and pray that things don't end badly for him and his family.

This certainly explains a lot. A pure shooter has to feel it and when your head is into something else for 20 hours a day it's hard to feel it on the court and be effective. How else can you explain the wide open looks that aren't going down?

That's really a shame because if the Celtics go on to win it all, Ray probably won't enjoy it as much as he would have if all was good in his world.

God bless Ray, my thoughts and hopes go with you.

(Glad I wasn't one of those guys giving Ray a bunch of crap for his performance. I'd feel really crappy about now if I did)

Likewise. It's tough to concentrate at work when everything's shaken up at home.

The guy has had a good season for us, and he doesn't deserve the crap he's been getting on this board.

[TrueGreen]

I haven't heard this about Ray's family problems till this post. I also, don't think Ray is playing poorly, his shots aren't falling. This will happen to a shooter and is more likely to happen if he's not getting enough quality shots, which he isn't. He's not taking bad shots. Also, the offensive system isn't designed for a single player. If it is designed for one player it's for KG and it's not for scoring purposes or possibly for Rondo, again not for scoring but for setting the pace. Last game the offense was changed to be PP oriented as he's the most versatile offensive player on the team. It worked. If it wasn't working they would have gone back to more ball movement, more to KG in the post to make plays and more attack the basket by Rondo which was hard to do against the Cav's defense.

[Bankshot]

I really hope everything is ok with Ray.  We really, really need him.

That being said, if his problems are family related, why did he pretty much blame his teammates for his struggles?  Did anyone hear the interview with Tanguay today on that Celtics show tonight, I think it is called "Road to 17"?  He said his problem was that it was on Doc and his teammates to do a better job of getting him open shots.  Both Marshall and Holley (who was also on the show) thought it was unprofessional for Ray to call out teammates right before the Pistons series.  I agree that Ray isn't getting enough shots, but he had a couple of WIDE open one's yesterday that would have given the Celtics some breathing room that he failed to knock down.

I was surprised to hear Ray throw his teammates under the bus like that and so was his buddy Marshall.

[BigAlTheFuture]

I heard about this story a couple of weeks ago. I don't think it effects him on the court, though. He seems pretty relax out there. It's probably an injury we don't know about that is holding him back.

[Bahku]

I really hope everything is ok with Ray.  We really, really need him.

That being said, if his problems are family related, why did he pretty much blame his teammates for his struggles?  Did anyone hear the interview with Tanguay today on that Celtics show tonight, I think it is called "Road to 17"?  He said his problem was that it was on Doc and his teammates to do a better job of getting him open shots.  Both Marshall and Holley (who was also on the show) thought it was unprofessional for Ray to call out teammates right before the Pistons series.  I agree that Ray isn't getting enough shots, but he had a couple of WIDE open one's yesterday that would have given the Celtics some breathing room that he failed to knock down.

I was surprised to hear Ray throw his teammates under the bus like that and so was his buddy Marshall.

I haven't seen the interview, but if he did indeed say that, I'm a bit disappointed in him. He's gotten plenty of looks of late, and could actually have had more shots, if he hadn't been so hesitant to shoot the ball. It's up to Ray to get out of this slump, and he has only himself to blame or take responsibility. A true professional never passes his/her slumps off on anybody else, and I truly hope this was a misunderstanding. Ray has always been pretty good about taking his knocks, and this would be a bit troubling.

[Bankshot]

I really hope everything is ok with Ray.  We really, really need him.

That being said, if his problems are family related, why did he pretty much blame his teammates for his struggles?  Did anyone hear the interview with Tanguay today on that Celtics show tonight, I think it is called "Road to 17"?  He said his problem was that it was on Doc and his teammates to do a better job of getting him open shots.  Both Marshall and Holley (who was also on the show) thought it was unprofessional for Ray to call out teammates right before the Pistons series.  I agree that Ray isn't getting enough shots, but he had a couple of WIDE open one's yesterday that would have given the Celtics some breathing room that he failed to knock down.

I was surprised to hear Ray throw his teammates under the bus like that and so was his buddy Marshall.

I haven't seen the interview, but if he did indeed say that, I'm a bit disappointed in him. He's gotten plenty of looks of late, and could actually have had more shots, if he hadn't been so hesitant to shoot the ball. It's up to Ray to get out of this slump, and he has only himself to blame or take responsibility. A true professional never passes his/her slumps off on anybody else, and I truly hope this was a misunderstanding. Ray has always been pretty good about taking his knocks, and this would be a bit troubling.

Yup he definitely did say it.  He also threw Rondo under the bus for not getting him the ball.  Grande is on Sports Tonight right now and he said what Ray said was "unfortunate".  I think so too.  I wish he had taken this up with the team in private.

[RIPRED]

I really hope everything is ok with Ray.  We really, really need him.

That being said, if his problems are family related, why did he pretty much blame his teammates for his struggles?  Did anyone hear the interview with Tanguay today on that Celtics show tonight, I think it is called "Road to 17"?  He said his problem was that it was on Doc and his teammates to do a better job of getting him open shots.  Both Marshall and Holley (who was also on the show) thought it was unprofessional for Ray to call out teammates right before the Pistons series.  I agree that Ray isn't getting enough shots, but he had a couple of WIDE open one's yesterday that would have given the Celtics some breathing room that he failed to knock down.

I was surprised to hear Ray throw his teammates under the bus like that and so was his buddy Marshall.

I haven't seen the interview, but if he did indeed say that, I'm a bit disappointed in him. He's gotten plenty of looks of late, and could actually have had more shots, if he hadn't been so hesitant to shoot the ball. It's up to Ray to get out of this slump, and he has only himself to blame or take responsibility. A true professional never passes his/her slumps off on anybody else, and I truly hope this was a misunderstanding. Ray has always been pretty good about taking his knocks, and this would be a bit troubling.

Yup he definitely did say it.  He also threw Rondo under the bus for not getting him the ball.  Grande is on Sports Tonight right now and he said what Ray said was "unfortunate".  I think so too.  I wish he had taken this up with the team in private.

either way, the E:60 program featuring Ray is on ESPN at 11PM EST which is just about 2 minutes from now.

[heatnum119]

I saw the E:60 piece from Michael Smith last tuesday and from what i gathered it really had nothing to do with Ray, the judge said so himself. Im not trying to be an insensitive jerk about family/personal issues, but come on, this cant even hold a candle to what pierce went through, and had his best years during that stretch (post-recovery + trial). IMO i do not think this is the reason Ray cant find his game lately, and those team baching comments dont sit well with me either.

-heat

[PlayRyanGomes]

This is actually an old story, I heard about this during the regular season when the guy was sentenced, I doubt Ray's play in the playoffs has anything to do with this.  He's known about the murder plot since 2004.

I saw Ray's comments today on the Drive for 17 show.  He blames everyone but himself.  He needs to suck it up and make shots.

[The Walker Wiggle]

Yup he definitely did say it.  He also threw Rondo under the bus for not getting him the ball.  Grande is on Sports Tonight right now and he said what Ray said was "unfortunate".  I think so too.  I wish he had taken this up with the team in private.

Yeah, but Doc routinely does the same.

[KungPoweChicken]

I can't believe Ray would toss his teammates in front of a moving train like that. Obviously, this is very disappointing. Ray has got to be extremely frustrated (I'm sure most players are when Doc is coaching) but you cannot go public like Ray did. Eddie house got undeservingly benched, but what did Eddie do? He came out and gave the team a huge lift in game 7. Ray's struggles cannot be solely blamed on one thing. The source of Ray's struggles are his team, the coaching, the opposing team, and of course himself. Ray will break out of this slump sooner or later, and I am not worried. However, what does worry me is that he would sell out his teammates.

[clover]

Here are some ugly comments from Ray in this morning's Globe.  Looks like some ugly politicking with Sam as well:

"With Rajon, he's the point guard and I think he has to become more aware of just getting me more easier looks," said Allen. "The whole team does."

Asked how he planned to get Allen going, Rondo said, "I think easy baskets. Ray's fine, I'm sure. He just wants to make plays for his teammates and get his shot going."

Yesterday, though, Allen turned to Cassell for assistance.

"Sam has always helped me," Allen said. "We've always been a great tandem. Even when he's on the bench, just some of the things he sees out there, he's going to make sure he puts them in Rondo's ear and even myself. He knows how to get scoring opportunities off of me and for me.

"He's more efficient than most guys I've played with in my career."

http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/05/20/slumping_allen_hopes_to_drum_up_rhythm/

[nickagneta]

Here are some ugly comments from Ray in this morning's Globe.  Looks like some ugly politicking with Sam as well:

"With Rajon, he's the point guard and I think he has to become more aware of just getting me more easier looks," said Allen. "The whole team does."

Asked how he planned to get Allen going, Rondo said, "I think easy baskets. Ray's fine, I'm sure. He just wants to make plays for his teammates and get his shot going."

Yesterday, though, Allen turned to Cassell for assistance.

"Sam has always helped me," Allen said. "We've always been a great tandem. Even when he's on the bench, just some of the things he sees out there, he's going to make sure he puts them in Rondo's ear and even myself. He knows how to get scoring opportunities off of me and for me.

"He's more efficient than most guys I've played with in my career."

http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/05/20/slumping_allen_hopes_to_drum_up_rhythm/

What I got out of that column was that Ray was blaming his teammates for his shooting problems by not getting him the ball enough and where he needs to get it. Although I hate the fact that Ray is throwing blame for his shooting woes towards his teammates, he is right. They have done an awful job of making sure he got enough looks and enough good looks to break out of a shooting slump.

That said, it's the playoffs and now is not the time to be wasting possessions trying to get Ray out of a shooting slump.

Now about what he said about Sam, I don't see that he was politicking to be playing more with Sam. Having been friends for a long time and ex-teammates, I thought he was just showing some appreciation towards Sam for trying to help him out of his slump. He's always helped him with this. When he's on the court with Sam, Ray has always felt they were a great tandem, And even when Sam is riding the pine, being the coach that he is, Sam is always seeing the little things that may help to get him untracked and sharing those thoughts with Ray and Rondo.

To me that's not throwing Rondo under the bus and politicking for playing time for Sam. That's acknowledging in public what a great help, friend, teammate, and coach Sam is and will be. Having not been there at the interview, I'm going to assume that Ray was being a class guy and that's the context he was making his statement about.

But if others want to see it differently, it wouldn't surprise me given the amount of negative thinking on this site.

[Yakmanev]

Don't forget the media has never ever once in it's history misquoted anybody or taken anything out of context.