In his final two games against the Indiana Pacers as a member of the Boston Celtics, Ray Allen combined to shoot 10-27 from the field. In the 2012-13 regular season, against Indiana, Allen missed 13 of 16 shots, and made just one three-pointer in nine attempts. Allen, an 88 percent free throw shooter on the year, did make 4-5 from the line.
Over the first six quarters of Indiana’s pairing with Allen’s Heat in the Eastern Conference finals, the bad luck streak in dancing school has continued, with the sharpshooter hitting for just eight attempts in 10 tries off the Miami bench. Weirder, he’s missed three of his six free throw attempts, including the infamous clang that allowed the Pacers to tie Game 1 at the end of regulation, and a technical foul miss that led to a mention that we very much appreciated.
This could be the tipping off point. A post like this could serve as a lowest dip for Allen and the Heat, especially if they find away to stop what should be a lacking Pacers offense (scored 50 points in the second half in game one, and 53 in Friday evening’s first half) and dash into the open court. The long arms of Paul George, Lance Stephenson, and George Hill aren’t as effective when Allen is spotting up in the corner in transition, with LeBron whipping away pass after pass.
It’s a pattern so far, though. Shooting 15-53 in six and a half games isn’t a fluke, it’s a matchup problem. The Heat had quite a bit to worry about entering this third round with Indiana. They probably didn’t think they’d have to Ray Allen’s shooting stroke, though. Odd, and untimely.
(And, perhaps, just one second half blitzkrieg away from righting itself.)
No comments:
Post a Comment