OKLAHOMA CITY - Ray Allen admitted that last night's 96-83 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder - formerly known as the team he used to play for, the Seattle SuperSonics - was surreal.
``It is odd,'' said the Celtics guard before the game. ``Someone just the other day was saying how unusual this was going to be, and I had to agree.''
Odd, because during his 4 1/2 seasons as a Sonic, Allen threw himself into the effort not only to keep the team in Seattle, but to advocate for the new arena that was going to be necessary to prevent a new owner from moving the team. Guess what happened.
``Everything I've ever drawn from the Sonics franchise comes down to the same question - where does it stand?'' he said. ``The feeling I get now from the new ownership is that now they just want a clean slate. ``It's strange, because some of the guys I played with are still there,'' said Allen. ``I know it's commonplace for guys to get traded, but in this case the whole team got traded, and that's something you obviously never see.
``Most of the players liked Seattle,'' he continued. ``I'm sure that having to relocate to Oklahoma City is going to require quite a readjustment.'' Not surprisingly, Allen can feel their disappointment.
``Oh yeah, definitely disappointment, because the people in government in Seattle didn't fight enough for what they wanted,'' he said. ``There was a lot of greed in the old ownership in wanting to unload the team so quickly, and they didn't think about what was going to happen.'' Thunder owner Clay Bennett's name may now be mud in Seattle, but you won't hear any of that criticism from Allen.
``I thought he was a straight shooter,'' said Allen. ``He let me know what his intentions were immediately. He wanted to make a go of it in Seattle, but if things didn't work out, then he had another plan. He was on the up and up. ``He owns properties all over America,'' he said. ``He didn't need a team in Oklahoma City.''
Emotional game
Between a road win over the Rockets and the election of Barack Obama to the presidency, a matter even closer to Doc Rivers' heart passed on Tuesday night. It was the year anniversary of the death of his father, Grady.
``He missed the title and he missed this,'' the Celtics coach said of Obama's historic triumph. ``But my mom told me that he probably would have been more proud of (Obama). ``She told me, `He always envisioned that you would win a championship.' But he never envisioned this.''
Pol talk
Though the Celtics - by a 14-1 margin in favor of Obama - enjoyed a quick presidential celebration following Tuesday night's win in Houston, there was a healthy dose of worry prior to the game.
Allen, for instance, fretted about the possibility of a electoral tie. He was intrigued enough to do some internet research on the history of the electoral college. ``I think the whole process should change,'' he said. ``You've given people the power of the vote, but the way things are set up, you have a say-so and also you don't. ``You look at Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida - states with a high electoral count - and the focus turns to them,'' said Allen. ``That's why we need a straight popular vote.''
Ming dynasty
With Kendrick Perkins blocking his shot twice and Glen Davis bumping him out of the paint like a sumo wrestler, Yao Ming was taken completely out of his game Monday night. Big Baby took delight in giving the 7-6 Yao - dubbed somewhat charitably by Rivers the best center in basketball - such a difficult time. ``I tried to out-think him; I tried to be a pest,'' said Davis. ``I wanted to get him mad and frustrated.''
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