Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big storyline. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
Playing against his former Boston teammates Pierce and Kevin Garnett for the first time in the playoffs since signing with Miami, Allen finished with 19 points and three assists, including four 3-pointers after hitting all of five 3s in the first-round sweep of the Bobcats.
It would’ve made for a fantastic tale had Allen credited Pierce and Garnett’s mere presence as the reason for his scoring outburst. But he insisted his opponents are “blank to me, regardless of who they are.”
And the Heat teammate who probably knows Allen best, Rashard Lewis, also said Allen wasn’t driven by any bitter feelings toward his former teammates.
“A lot of people are probably going to say that it’s extra for him going against KG and Paul Pierce, but Ray Allen is strictly professional,” Lewis said. “He comes to help us win ball games.”
…
It just so happened the Heat, before Tuesday’s Game 1, watched a 2009 playoff game between the Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls in which Allen scored his career playoff-high 51 points in triple-overtime. LeBron joked that watching the game might’ve “juiced up” Allen a little bit.
My first reaction to this story is… the media talks to Rashard Lewis? I guess the ball boys and sausage vendors were unavailable for comment.
Lost in all the Pierce/KG vs LeBron drama is the fact that nemesis Ray Allen is still knocking down threes for Miami.
He may be old and one of the biggest sports frauds this town has ever seen, but the guy can still shoot.
As for Brooklyn, KG was held scoreless in a playoff game for the first time in his career and the Truth managed a meager 8 points. As I stated yesterday, if Deron Williams is going to churn out weak ass stat lines like 17 points and 4 assists every game, the Nets are going nowhere.
For some unknown reason, the tiny soft spot in my black heart has emerged this morning. Let’s look back on Ray’s 51-point performance vs Chicago in 2009. Those shots at the end of the 2OT were ridiculous. KG’s knee cost us a title. Even if we had the current version of KG on that 2009 Celtics team, we’d have another banner.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFgPqYbpwI0]The rest of the links:
Grantlant – History of Pierce vs Lebron | ESPN Boston – Reflections after report cards | CSNNE – Blakely’s mock draft: Embiid in green
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