It Wasn't All Fun and Games for Ray

Tuesday night's game against the Heat is being viewed by many as a victory for Ray Allen over his former team as much as it was a victory for the Heat. I'm fine with this. But it wasn't all fun and games for #34. By now we now one thing about Ray, if we know anything at all. Hay-Zeus has a fragile ego. He wasn't getting enough minutes, enough touches, enough shots, enough freedom on offense, or even enough starts under Doc Rivers during his last year in Boston. Once Hay-Zeus learned that the C's had just signed Jason Terry over the summer, Hay-Zeus concluded that the Celtics were now "all set."

Not sure what he meant, but, given what he's said, my reading of the tea leaves goes something like this: "I wasn't getting adequate respect or opportunity under Doc last year without Jason Terry, I sure as hell am not going to compete with him for minutes off the bench this year." While Terry did not have a great game, Courtney Lee had a very good first quarter, hitting a 3 and a 2 while Hay-Zeus's rear-end was fastened to the pine.

But these weren't my favorite moments.

Nope.


Those came in the fourth quarter, with Hay-Zeus on the floor. Over the course of 60 seconds, while the Celtics were mounting a furious comeback, #34 was assigned to first defend Leandro Barbosa and then Courtney Lee. On both occasions, the Celtic he was guarding received the ball beyond the arc. Ray charged out both times in an effort to block the shot, and both times the Celtic took a dribble (OK, Lee took two) away from the hard charging Hay-Zeus and drained the shot. Barbosa nailed a three and Lee a deuce. These are your replacements, Hay-Zeus, and, quite frankly, I'm glad we have them and not you. As for Jason Terry, he'll catch up with you in the rematch.