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

[CT34]

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.

Ray did say those things and I agree it was unprofessional of Ray to say those thing.  I really think it has a lot more to do with his off the court issues.  When your going throw a stressfull period like Ray is. ie. Pressure at work and  serious family issues you tend to do things and say things that you normally would not say and do.  If this was game 20 into the season I could see the Cs giving Ray time off to take care of his family.  But right now they can't afford to so Ray has to find a way to block everything out and focus on the game.

[TrueGreen]

My take on Ray's comments:  Preface--He is not getting off enough shots to get into a rhythm.-----He also said the Cav's defense did a good job of taking away his shots (positive comment).
Main point:  Ray is not like other athletes when making comments to the media. He is very introspective and objective when analyzing a question. There are no quick answers. Ray was not throwing anyone under the bus, he is not conspiring with Sam. He is stating, objectively, his opinion of his shooting woes. It's a team problem ("problem" is not the right word, but can't think of a better one now). Ray also said, basically, he'll do what the team (Doc) wants. With all this said his presence on the floor is invaluable. Ray needs to be guarded (with the Cav's two guys were guarding him). This leaves a man open. It's up to the playmakers to make good decisions. Ray being on the floor makes it easier for others to score. To me that's a huge positive contribution by Ray. There are others. We are too concerned with his missing shots. Also, Ray can just stay silent with the media. His willingness to discuss this gives us fans insight into the team.

[Bankshot]

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

Except that I saw the interview and it was not taken out of context.  Donny Marshall, Michael Holley (who was also on the show) and Sean Grande all pretty much confirmed that Ray's comments were "unfortunate" and couldn't have come at a worse time as now when they are set to face the Pistons.  I love Ray, but I lost just a bit of respect for him for those comments that he made to the press rather than take it up with the team in private.  They don't need this kind of stuff in the press right now.

[Andy Jick]

real nice...great timing.  my respect for ray just dropped a few notches.

apparently he shoots better from the hip than he does with his arms...

[CT34]

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

Except that I saw the interview and it was not taken out of context.  Donny Marshall, Michael Holley (who was also on the show) and Sean Grande all pretty much confirmed that Ray's comments were "unfortunate" and couldn't have come at a worse time as now when they are set to face the Pistons.  I love Ray, but I lost just a bit of respect for him for those comments that he made to the press rather than take it up with the team in private.  They don't need this kind of stuff in the press right now.

I wouldn't go that far as to say I lost some respect for Ray.  Maybe it wasn't the right time to say what he said but he was honest to those who was asking the question.  I respect a man for being honest.  I also know that Ray's been under a lot of stress both on and off the court and in stressfully situations i know I've said things that I would not have said if I wasn't under a lot of stress.  

[Roy Hobbs]

Ray should have bit his tongue, but he's absolutely right: he's not getting the ball in a position to score, by and large.  He's been frozen out of the offense a little.

As for the family issue, it's certainly a fairly heavy one, but it's also been ongoing for several years; I would have thought it would be more stressful back in 2003, when the criminal events were taking place.

[Yakmanev]

Ray has said things before that weren't popular.

If I'm not mistaken didn't he say at one time he wouldn't play for the Olympic team unless he were paid, or that the players should be paid for playing in the Olympics or something like that?.

[Birdbrain]

Well I'll say this for Ray keep throwing up bricks on uncontested wide open jump shots and you and Sammy will have a lot of time to share past memories on the pine. 

Come on Ray knuckle up. 

Ubuntu and all that.

[Andy Jick]

 

Ubuntu and all that.

well, at least it sells bracelets and looks nice on commercials...

[rathcor]

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

Amen.  I dont see a big deal about Ray's comments.  Doc has been saying this all year about Ray

[celts55]

While I have never been a fan of airing ones issues in the press, I do have a few opinions on this matter.
First would be that it starts at the top. Doc is consistantly throwing players under the bus in his post game interviews. Watch him sometime or read his interviews in the papers. He's always talking about guys screwing up their assignments and is more than free with mentioning them by name. I don't think Ive ever seen Belichek do that.
Second, Ray went from being a top 5 scorer last year to a third option, at best. His number of shots are way down and i never heard him complain. He went out had did his job, but was still getting 10 to 15 shots a game. Now all of a sudden he's getting 4 one day 6 the next, and on top of that having to listen to how he's playing lousy.
Now as Chris Rock said, I'm not saying it's right, but I understand.
How's the guy supposed to get in any kind of rythem when he's not getting the ball. Granted he's missed a few open jumpers, but so did Lebron, and you didn't see Cleveland sit him down for almost all of the 4th. I was at game 7 and there were more than a few times Ray came off picks wide open and didn't get the ball. I think I would be pretty upset if i was him. The guys a shooter. He'll be okay, but he needs to be involved more. I think he ends up getting frustrated and than starts forcing.
Than again, I might have any idea what I'm talking about, and be totally wrong.

[Birdbrain]

No your correct with most of what you say.  But a Ray Allen open jumper and a Lebron James open jumper are not equal.  It's true that he's sacrificed the most and it's true that Doc might not be the best coach to get the best out of him and that Rondo being a 2nd year guard might not put him in the best position to score but, he still better start making wide open jumpers.  So everyone is right kind of.

[celts55]

No your correct with most of what you say.  But a Ray Allen open jumper and a Lebron James open jumper are not equal.  It's true that he's sacrificed the most and it's true that Doc might not be the best coach to get the best out of him and that Rondo being a 2nd year guard might not put him in the best position to score but, he still better start making wide open jumpers.  So everyone is right kind of.

My point was that James was something like 3 for 18 and 2 fot whatever the first few games, yet the Cavs kept going to him. If you discount the last two games Lebron and a pretty horible shooting series. Of course he still rebounds, gets assists and plays d. But you just don't freeze a guy like Ray out because he's not shooting well for a few games.
Maybe it's just me, but if it had come down to a last second shot in game 7, I still would have had total confidence that Ray would have knocked it down.

[Chris]

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.

Ray did say those things and I agree it was unprofessional of Ray to say those thing.  I really think it has a lot more to do with his off the court issues.  When your going throw a stressfull period like Ray is. ie. Pressure at work and  serious family issues you tend to do things and say things that you normally would not say and do.  If this was game 20 into the season I could see the Cs giving Ray time off to take care of his family.  But right now they can't afford to so Ray has to find a way to block everything out and focus on the game.

Does anyone have an actual quote or transcript of what was said?

I don't know if it is the same thing I saw, but I caught the end of something about Ray making some comments, and one of the talking heads (I think Tanguay) said something along the lines of "does it sound to you like Ray is blaming his teammates/the offense for his slump?", and then Marshall said something along the lines of "Yes, it sounds like to to me, and I agree with him.  Generally plays are being run where the ball does not get to Ray until the very end, and most of the times, they are breaking down before the ball reaches him."

When I saw that, it sounded like it was more an interpretation of what was said.  So I am not ready to throw Ray under the bus for it yet.

[nickagneta]

While I have never been a fan of airing ones issues in the press, I do have a few opinions on this matter.
First would be that it starts at the top. Doc is consistantly throwing players under the bus in his post game interviews. Watch him sometime or read his interviews in the papers. He's always talking about guys screwing up their assignments and is more than free with mentioning them by name. I don't think Ive ever seen Belichek do that.
Second, Ray went from being a top 5 scorer last year to a third option, at best. His number of shots are way down and i never heard him complain. He went out had did his job, but was still getting 10 to 15 shots a game. Now all of a sudden he's getting 4 one day 6 the next, and on top of that having to listen to how he's playing lousy.
Now as Chris Rock said, I'm not saying it's right, but I understand.
How's the guy supposed to get in any kind of rythem when he's not getting the ball. Granted he's missed a few open jumpers, but so did Lebron, and you didn't see Cleveland sit him down for almost all of the 4th. I was at game 7 and there were more than a few times Ray came off picks wide open and didn't get the ball. I think I would be pretty upset if i was him. The guys a shooter. He'll be okay, but he needs to be involved more. I think he ends up getting frustrated and than starts forcing.
Than again, I might have any idea what I'm talking about, and be totally wrong.

Now I've heard it all. Doc is, besides the other million things he is blamed for with this team, responsible because Ray Allen threw his teammates to the wolves for his lack of offense.

Truly incredible.

When people ask questions of Doc in press conferences about players and what they did during the game Doc is honest. He will usually say we as a team didn't do this or that right. Or this player could have done this or that better. He praises good play.

He does not call out his players, degrade them, insult them, or harsely criticize them. 99.9% of the time he's says that a player could have done this or that better.

I don't see how that is throwing his players under the bus.

And as for the Belichick comment, you obviously haven't seen many of his press conferences. He picks apart weaknesses of the team when they win 56-3. He sometimes does call out players and challenge them. He will state that certain positions played poorly.

He easily does this more so than he heaps praise on players during interviews and press conferences, by a wide margin.

Ray said some unfortunate stuff. If he's had stuff going on personally besides his struggles professionally that might explain the comments. But other than that I'm not going to speculate why. He made the comments. He's a big boy. He will take responsibility for them.

No one else made him say those things or were responsible for him saying those things. Like hisrecent performances, that's all on Ray.