Ray Allen: Another Record But Not Another Ring.

Ray Allen had a dismal shooting performance in Game 7, finishing the season with 13 points on a 3 for 14 shooting night.

Normally, I’d try to forget this type of performance, especially when it comes from my favorite player on my favorite team. But there were a couple of bright spots. First off all his defensive effort on Kobe (6 of 24 shooting) was rather impressive. Second, as some of you might have noticed, I’ve been tracking Ray’s free throws to see if he would break another NBA Finals record, Free Throw %.

Coming into Game 7, ‘Jesus’ had hit 19 of 19 free throws for an impeccable 100%. The record for FT% in a 7-game series was 95.9% set by Boston’s own Bill Sharman in 1959 vs (you guessed it!) the Lakers.

Allen was shooting so bad that he actually clanked on of his six free throws in Game 7. However he ended the night 5 of 6 and the series at 24 of 25. Setting a new finals record of 96% Free Throw Percentage in a 7-Game series.

It seems rather pointless now and I’m sure Ray would trade this in for 9.6% shooting and a second ring but I think it has to be mentioned somewhere.

Hope everyone enjoyed this season, series, and game 7 as much as we did.

@Suga_Shane

First Quarter Stats

Kobe Bryant and Pao Gasol: 3-15 from the floor

Rebound advantage: LA 15, Boston 10

Record of the team that won the first quarter, 2009 NBA Finals: 6-0

Don’t expect that first stat to keep up, but the third is very disconcerting for LA fans.

2010 NBA Finals. Lakers. Celtics. Game 7.

I’m not one to hyperbolize the importance of basketball games. After all, they are just basketball games. Most fans seem to live and die by the successes and failures of their cherished franchises. I, on the other hand, am not moved by most  singular events in sports. Out side of the temporary highs and lows, I tend to move on rather quickly once the results are final. This is because to me and to the vast majority of basketball fans, the NBA is not a means to and end and I can not stress this enough.

However, this rivalry, this series, this game, it’s on another level. This not another trivial playoff match up. The lexicon used in the title of this post alone conjures up feelings of epic proportions.

Celtics vs Lakers. The greatest rivalry in all of sports. The abhorrence between these two storied franchises and their enormous fan bases couldn’t be anymore palpable. Dichotomy between them is like day and night. East coast vs. West coast. Blue collar and white collar. Black and white. Purple & Gold and Green & White. The only common ground these two share is at stake tomorrow night: Championships.

Game 7. Is there another phrase in sports that better represents life and death? What we feel when these words are muttered is a volatile mix of overzealous excitement, fear, anxiousness, and unbridled enthusiasm. Win or go home, as they say. Do or die. Let the best man win. All or nothing. Two equal yet opposite fates  await those who enter a game seven. The outcome is never certain yet the build up is always electrifying.

NBA Finals. This one might not need explaining. This is what all basketball players dream of. The day dream of it when they are young. They fight for it when they are prime. Some even sacrifice their legacy for it when they are old enough. You are no one until you win somethnig and there is no better stage to win than the NBA Finals.

When we put the pieces of the puzzle together we create a creature of unfathomable powers: “Celtics at Lakers, Game 7 of the NBA Finals.” The syntax of that sentence gives Thursday night an aura of legendary proportions. 

Please believe me when I say that I’m not trying to embellish or overemphasize the epic nature of Thursday nights game; This will be the biggest basketball game of our generation. Game 7 will be a game for the ages.

No matter who you are cheering for, and regardless of the outcome, please enjoy this one. I know I will.

@Suga_Shane 

The Game of Basketball is Very Simple.

Basketball is all about two things: Effort and Execution.

Rebounding is all about two things: Effort and Execution.

As mentioned before, rebounding IS the key to this series. Celtics won the rebounding battle tonight (35 to 34) and thus they won the game.

As we head over to LA, Boston is up three game to two. They have the first two game winning streak of this series and they are doing it all on the shoulders of another aspect of basketball that is based on Effort and Execution; their defense.

@Suga_Shane