Video: Ray Allen Breaks Career Three Pointers Made Record

Boston Celtics shooting guard Ray Allen is one of the purest shooters in NBA history. Against the Lakers on Feb. 10th, 2011 Allen nailed his second three-pointer of the first quarter, giving his 2,561 three's for his career,  breaking Reggie Miller's previous  mark as Miller was calling the game for TNT:





Congratulations go out to the future Hall Of Famer, who began his career as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks after being selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves 5th overall and immediately traded for Stephon Marbury. He joined the Celtics as a free agent in 2007 after spending the previous four seasons with the Sonics. He's also known for his role as Jesus Shuttlesworth in Spike Lee's "He Got Game".


Fitting movie title for a player of Allen's caliber and professionalism. Hats off to him.


s/o to @jose3030 for the video.


-ALR

Sports Guy Bill Simmons and Henry Abbott: 'Kobe Bryant Isn't Clutch'

"No country for stat geeks..."

That thought raced through my head while listening to the most recent B.S. Report from Bill "The Sports Guy" Simmons of espn.com. He and guest, Henry Abbott had crunched the numbers and deduced that despite what your lying eyes (and record books) may tell you, it isn't a great idea to have Kobe Bean Bryant take the reigns of the Los Angeles Lakers' offense down the stretch of a game.

"He's not good." Abbott said at around 2:50 into the podcast. "He's too selfish. He's too much of a ball hog, and the Lakers actually end up being an average crunch time team, even though they have the personnel to be the best offensive team."

Abbott, who presides over True Hoop Blog (also on espn.com), recently wrote that despite all the praise from his peers, opposing GMs, and even critics, Bryant is a bad option in the proverbial clutch.

"Ask me, though, (as Ryen Russillo did last week and Mike Trudell the other day)," Abbott wrote. "And I'll tell you I don't know who's the best, but with all due respect to Bryant's amazing abilities scoring the ball, there's zero chance he's the king of crunch time."

On the podcast, both Abbott and Simmons almost sounded mystified as to why anyone would believe Bryant would be considered a viable option in the final five minutes of a close NBA game. They cited PER statistics, that placed Bryant below average in the crunch time statistical category. In fact, they deduced that Carmelo Anthony and Dirk Nowitzki are both head and shoulders above Bryant in likelihood of coming through in clutch situations.

This despite, as Abbott surveyed, 79% of NBA's GMs saying they wouldn't want Bryant to have the ball against their team in a clutch situation. The ninth straight season that he's "won" that praise.

Abbott argues that Bryant takes a lot of tough shots, and dominates possessions, even going as far as to call him a "ball hog".

Simmons, a lifelong Boston Celtics fan, and an admitted detester of Bryant as a player and a person, says that the two are simply doing the sports world a service by "attacking a false narrative about their career."

Both Simmons and Abbott agreed Bryant was a great player, but "clutch" he was not.

My question: Do you really trust Carmelo or Dirk more in the clutch than you trust Kobe? Because I don't.

Bryant has a flair for the dramatic. Just last season, Bryant added six game-winning shots to his resume', further pushing the "narrative" that he is the NBA's premier clutch performer.

Abbott, an admitted stat geek, used a "Game on the Line" compilation that measured performances when "trailing by one or two points, or tied, in the final 24 seconds of regular season and playoff games since 1996-1997, with a minimum of 30 shots."

Anthony came out on the top of the list, connecting on 21 of 44 attempts, a 47 percent clip.

Bryant was 36 of 115, 31 percent. Case closed, right?

As Charlie Murphy would say, "Wrong!"

Bryant's stats by that particular measurement, aren't that impressive, until you realize that the total number of NBA titles won by the 26 players ahead of him is 5; four by Tim Duncan (23 of 62, 37 percent) and one by Glenn "Big Dog" Robinson (14 of 36, 38 percent). Throw Robinson's out since he didn't play in the clutch (or much at all) when the San Antonio Spurs won their last title, and all the titles are with two players who both shoot below 38 percent with the game on the line.

Another look at the list shows that aside from Anthony and Nowitzki, the list isn't exactly a sampling of the NBA's most elite players from 1997 to today. From 2-27 (Kobe) there is Chris Paul, Shawn Marion, Brandon Roy (decent start), Hedo Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis, Big Dog (WTF), Deron Williams (Okay again), Mike Bibby (Negro no), Dirk, Jalen Rose, Duncan, Eddie Jones (Really didn't see that coming), Karl Malone (Playoffs included? Really?), Ben Gordon, Chris Webber, Raymond Felton (Weirdest stretch), Lebron James (Hey, an elite player!), Ray Allen (No doubt), Gilbert Arenas, Vince Carter, Steve Francis, Damon Stoudamire, and Nick Van Exel.

Of those names, I would pull out four (Dirk, Ray, Lebron, and Duncan), maybe five (Vince Carter, because his 31 of 96, 32 percent is very close to Bryant's) can be included in an argument of being as clutch than Bryant. But none could be considered more clutch.

Much of Abbott and Simmons' criticisms of Bryant in crunch time centered around the degree of difficulty of the shots he takes.

"Kobe wins the 'who can take the most impossible crunch time shot and actually make it'," said Simmons. "He's the best guy since Larry Bird. One-point-eight seconds on the clock, double-teamed, falling out of bounds, he's the one you want taking (the shot)"

So what is your argument again? I thought you said he wasn't clutch.

Abbott was adamant that the Lakers high powered offense became below average down the stretch of close games, going from 109 points per 100 possessions, to 82 points per 100 possessions. He attributed the decline to Bryant's ball hogging and abandoning of the offense.

But what about the defense? Can it not be said that if a game is close, and a team is inclined to want the win, they step up the defensive effort? It's only logical that the offense won't operate as smoothly in that situation, but to a stat geek, I imagine it does not compute.

It has been said that you can get a statistic to prove whatever point it is you want to, and I find no truer NBA example than this argument. I love Simmons' work as a writer and a podcast pioneer. I know his passion for the NBA is genuine. I respect Abbott's tireless coverage of all things NBA. But we're all capable of being blinded by bias. Neither cares for Bryant's style of play, which is admittedly an acquired taste.

But it isn't dogma that leads people to believe Bryant is clutch. Clutch is subjective, and the subjective cannot be swayed by numbers alone. The times he's actually come through (36) are more than anyone else during his 15-year career. Add to that the fact that he's attempted more of those shots (115) than anyone else, and take for granted that people know what they're seeing when their seeing him play.

It's not about PER, or any saber mathematics, or being a ball hog. It's about getting the job done when all the chips are down, and Kobe Bryant has done it better than anyone else throughout his entire career.

Video: Boston Celtics Guard Nate Robinson Working At Chipotle

You gotta love Nate Robinson. He's quite an entertaining character. When he's not playing the Donkey to Glen Davis' Shrek (pause) and falling off of Paul Pierce's shoulders, you may be able to find Lil Nate at your local Boston Chipotle wrapping burritos:



I'm partial to a steak burrito bowl with lettuce and cheese and a side of guacamole. Shoutout to nesn.com for the video.

-ALR

First Trimester NBA Power Rankings (Part 2)

Happy Kwanzaa!

Let's continue the first trimester NBA report card, this time looking at the upper crust of the league using Barkley-isms. Teams 30-17 can be found here.

"He [Kenny] said Yao Ming's gonna get 19 points. If he gets 19 points in a game, I'll kiss [Kenny's] ass."

16. Houston Rockets (14-15)

The Rockets have lost the services of Yao for this season, and in all likelihood, his career. Even if he manages to return from his latest ankle injury, it won't be with the Rockets. So Houston has been trotting out a starting lineup of Kyle Lowry, Kevin Martin, Shane Battier, Luis Scola, and Chuck Hayes, with Brad Miller, Jordan Hill, and Courtney Lee providing bench depth (Aaron Brooks has missed most of this season with an injury). Absolutely no star power can be found on this roster, yet they are competitive night in and night out. After starting out 3-10, the Rockets are 11-5 since Nov. 24.

(Conspiracy Theorist in me thinks that Yao's people, aka the Chinese government, would like him to play out his career in either NY, LA, or Miami. They have ordered him to sit down this year while the foot and ankle injuries recover, since it is the last year of his contract. You read it hear first.)

"You've got to believe in yourself. Hell, I believe I'm the best looking guy in the world, and I might be right."

15. Indiana Pacers (13-15)

14. Denver Nuggets (16-13)

13. Portland Trailblazers (15-15)

These three teams are as good, or bad, as they want to be, depending on the night. The Pacers score exactly as many points per game as they give up (97.8). Within reason, the Pacers are a playoff team in the Eastern Conference led by a reliable scorer (Danny Granger, 21 ppg), a solid big man (Roy Hibbert, 14 ppg, 8 rpg, and 2 bpg), and solid defense. They've struggled recently, losing six of their last ten games, and similar to the Rockets, they are a team built without a superstar at any position.

The Nuggets are mired in the Carmelo Anthony will-he-or-won't-he rumors, and that has had a direct correlation to their mediocre play. But when they want to, they can play like one of the NBA's top eight teams. Still, from all reports, Anthony is going to take his 24 ppg out of town, and as soon as that happens, look for the Nuggets to bottom out.

The Blazers can't score, rebound, or stay healthy. That last part is probably the biggest reason for their struggles. Former number one overall pick Greg Oden will miss the majority of a season for the third time of his career. Franchise player Brandon Roy all but needs to sit out this season. But they still win games. LaMarcus Aldridge has come one strong in December (20 ppg, 9 rpg for the month), and Wesley Matthews (19 ppg 48 percent shooting in December) is the best of the second tier NBA offseason acquisitions. Seriously.


"Poor white people and poor black people just don't know how much they have in common. Rich people don't give a damn about either group."

12. Atlanta Hawks (19-13)

11. New Orleans (18-12)

Be honest, you do not believe in either of these two teams. The Hawks paid Joe Johnson $119 million to keep him as the leader of a team going nowhere. I don't blame him for signing, but I doubt his 17 ppg and barely 40 percent shooting is ideal for a player making $16 million this year. They are relying on the formula of Johnson scoring, Josh Smith and Al Horford rebounding and defending (32 ppg, 18 rpg, 3 bpg combined), and Jamal Crawford as sixth man (14 ppg, 35 percent from three). But the formula includes letting Marvin Williams (11 ppg, 5 rpg) be completely average, and letting Jason Collins start at center.

The Hornets started the season 12-3, Chris Paul looked rejuvenated (16 ppg, 10 apg), and first year coach Monty Williams looked like Coach of the Year material. Since then the NBA has taken ownership of the team away from George Shinn, the team has gone 4-9, and there is declining optimism that Paul will not be forcing a trade to greener pastures.

"The only difference between a good shot and a bad shot is if it goes in or not."

10. Orlando Magic (18-12)

9. New York Knicks (18-12)

Two teams that as presently constructed (key word) will have no problem finding shots they like. The Magic are presently 19th in the NBA in scoring, but that will likely improve with the additions of Gilbert Arenas, Hedo Turkoglu, and Jason Richardson. Adding them to Dwight Howard in the middle of a career high scoring season (21 ppg), and points should come in bunches. After taking two post-trade losses, the Magic knocked off the two hottest teams in the NBA (Spurs and the Celtics), back-to-back.

The Knicks are the league's most lovable bandwagon team. Face it, if you're an NBA fan who doesn't like a high-scoring, winning team with a premier player (Amare Stoudemire 26 ppg, 9 rpg, 2 bpg) playing in New York, then you must hate life. They still aren't a viable title contender, but they can definitely play spoiler in the Eastern Conference playoffs. I asked via Twitter before the Knicks-Celtics game a couple weeks ago, "What if Amare had already changed the culture of NY basketball, and we just didn't realize it yet? What if he wins a title before Lebron?"

Not that it's bound to happen, but it's fascinating to think about.

"The main thing to do is relax and let your talent do the work."

8. Los Angeles Lakers (21-9)

This is a power ranking, not an end of the season ranking. The Lakers are still defending champs, but they are not playing well at all. Kobe Bryant looks a step slower. Pau Gasol looks overworked (39 mpg, only 17 ppg in December). Andrew Bynum looks overweight. Of course, there is little need to panic, because at the end of the day, they have the most talented roster in the Western Conference, and all their struggles can be attributed more to their interest in winning games, than the teams they're losing to being better.

Sometime between now and April, they'll decide to rev things up, and they'll "switch it on" like so many analyst are complaining about them doing. But as poorly as they've played, they are still number one in the Pacific, and if the playoffs started today, they'd be the third seed. Not exactly time to panic.

"Kids are great. That's one of the best things about our business, all the kids you get to meet."

7. Chicago Bulls (19-10)

6. Oklahoma City Thunder (21-10)

Two of the youngest teams in the league are performing among the most elite. The Bulls have battled injuries to Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah, but Derrick Rose (24 ppg, 8 apg, 1 spg) has played MVP-caliber ball. First-year head coach Tom Thibideau has successfully brought his hard-nosed defensive philosophy from his days as a Celtics assistant over to the young Bulls, who are currently 9th in defense and 2nd in rebounding. The only thing keeping them from being a legit title contender is an elite two-guard teaming with Rose.

The Thunder in many ways are still riding the high from the first round Game 6 loss to the Lakers, but that's what happens when youth meets success early. They have the best under-25 roster in the NBA. Their two best players, Kevin Durant (28 ppg, 6 rpg) and Russell Westbrook (22 ppg, 8 apg) are arguably the best players at their positions in the division. They are coming on strong (10-3 in December), and will cause problems with their speed and length in the playoffs.

"Sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel is a train."

5. Utah Jazz (21-9)

4. Dallas Mavericks (23-5)

Both teams are great right now, and worthless come April. But this is right now, and that's how they'll be judged.

The Jazz are playing in the familiar roles of a Jerry Sloan basketball team. Deron Williams (22 ppg, 9.6 apg) plays the role of a beefed up John Stockton, while Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap combine to impersonate Karl Malone (32 ppg, 17 rpg combined). They've done a great job of coming from behind to win games against the Heat, Lakers, and Magic, and they've lost only two games to teams currently below .500.

Dallas is playing with the fire and intensity Laker fans were expecting to see in their team. But even that doesn't mean the Mavs early-season success will last. Dirk Nowitzki has played at an MVP level (24.5 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 39 percent from three), and Tyson Chandler's acquisition has been great for the team's defense and overall speed. Still, age (average starter: 31 years old) and injury are a big factor for this team, and moving forward it's hard to see how they won't be affected by both.

"I don't care what people think, people are stupid"

3. San Antonio Spurs (26-4)

2. Miami Heat (23-9)

1. Boston Celtics (23-5)

The Spurs are the 4th best scoring team in the NBA even though Tim Duncan is no longer an elite scorer. Aside from losing to the Clippers on the second night of a back-to-back, they haven't had a bad game this season.

After a rough start (10-8 at the end of November), the Heat have rallied to win 14 of their last 15 games, and boast the best defense in the NBA. Lebron James (25 ppg, 7 rpg, 7 apg), Dwyane Wade (23 ppg, 6 rpg, 4 apg), and Chris Bosh (18 ppg, 8 rpg) have been highly effective in their first year together, after about one month of learning to play off each other.

The Celtics are off to their typical fast start in the Kevin Garnett era. Each of the last four seasons, they were the best team in the NBA from October to January. They're playing the same stout defense (91 ppg allowed, 2nd in the NBA). But they also have age issues, and the injury bug has struck their most effective young player (Rajon Rondo, 13.8 apg, 2.4 spg). They are a lot deeper this year than they have been in the past with the additions of Shaquille O'Neal, Delonte West, and Jermaine O'Neal, so we'll see just how long they will be able to sustain this high level of play.

Jalen Rose on Trash Talk "What Happens On The Court Should Stay There"

Earlier this morning on espn's "First Take", former NBA guard Jalen Rose made a very good point regarding the alleged trash talk between Kevin Garnett & Charlie Villanueva. If you aren't aware, apparently during the Boston Celtics game (or should I say scrimmage) against the Pistons on Tuesday, Villanueva says that Garnett called him a "cancel patient" (see here for the report). Villanueva took to twitter to "expose" KG. Garnett responded that he told Villanueva "he's cancerous to his team". Believe who you will.

Jalen Rose made this point today; basically the NBA court is a sanctuary. Trash talk is a part of the game. What happens on the court should be kept there and not taken to the net or twitter. It's common knowledge that Garnett is a big trash talker on the court and will do anything to psyche out his opponent. He even talks to himself on the court. Whether KG really said it or not only he and Villanueva really know.

Although cancer is a very harsh and touchy subject, in my opinion Villanueva should have handled it on the court and moved on. If Garnett did indeed say it he should apologize and that's a different debate for another day... but Villanueva taking it to the net may not have been the best approach. Neither was KG's response, which actually made him look more guilty than anything.

Overall the point is, settle it on the court and leave it there. Either drop some heavy numbers on KG's head or hit him with an elbow or something (like Anthony Peeler did a few years back). Handle it on the hardwood and move on.

-ALR (@a_ramsey on twitter)

Game 1 for "Super Team" and the NBA

The NBA season is officially started and I cannot be happier. The Miami Heat will be under the microscope plenty this season, blowback from the summer of 2010. We all know what it is, so I'm not going to get into that. Instead, let's examine how they looked in the first game of the season. Yes, I know there are 81 regular season games to go, but the Boston Celtics did expose the Miami Heat superstar's vulnerabilities...

1) "6" absolutely can not shoot, but he can be streaky. There was a point in the 3rd quarter when he scored 8-11 straight. Hit a couple 3's and got to the free throw line a lot (at that point he was 50% from the line... superstar smh). 31 points is a great number and when he decided to take over, he was straight to the cup. When he decided to try to out-shoot Paul Pierce, however, Boston outscored them handidly. I'm just saying...

2) Chris Bosh, 3-11 shooting, is not the answer down on the box, offensively or defensively.

3) D. Wade gets a pass for his dreadful shooting night (4-16), since he was injured and did not have the opportunity to get much gametime in the pre-season.

As a team, the main issue here is if Wade or "6" are not getting fast break points or to the basket in general, how are the Heat going to consistently score? Key word in that is "consistently". The illustration of that is the 1st half of the game in which they put up 9 points in the 1st qtr and 30 points at the half as a team. Those are both franchise lows for anyone keeping count, smh. Again, I know it's Game 1 and I'd be willing to bet this poor performance will not happen again, but the Celtics D put up a blueprint. I hope the teams that are not as good defensively were at least taking notes.

- @lostherod

NBA Season Preview: Atlantic Division

This may be the final National Basketball Association season in the history of the world (Of the world, Craig!). With the players strike looming at the end of the season, and 2012 right around the corner (which will be the end of mankind), its safe to say few if any NBA seasons have been anticipated as eagerly as the 2010-11 is.

Major story lines abound: the Los Angeles Lakers attempting a three-peat, Lebron James looking to prove his "Decision" was the right one, Carmelo Anthony allowing La La to wear the pants in the house and force a trade to the New York Knicks, Kevin Durant possibly stealing the MVP award from Lebron by swaying voters with his world class talent and "aw-shucks" personality, the Boston Celtics using the Smokey from "Friday" approach (The older the berry, the sweeter the juice)... and those are the mainstream stories.

Can't forget these gems for true NBA junkies: the Utah Jazz trading for Karl Malone 2.0 (Al Jefferson) and teaming him with Deron Williams' Ceasar, Steve Nash playing with some guys from the Phoenix area YMCA adult league, Blake Griffin leading the Los Angeles Clippers to the eighth seed in the west, John Wall doing the "John Wall Dance" in front of a half empty crowd and an awkward looking Russian billionaire, Dwight Howard possibly learning an actual post move from Hakeem Olajuwan, Derrick Rose looking incredibly uncomfortable in those Adidas commercials with the Asian dude from "The Hangover"...

Most importantly, J.R. Smith, Chris Anderson, and Kenyon Martin forming some sort of neck tattoo Voltron in the middle of a game, and using their powers to stop a terrorist attack at the Pepsi Center.

(And the All-Star game is in Los Angeles too? Sheeeeeeeeeeet.)

Without any further delay (or lame jokes), lets preview the Atlantic Division. We'll do power rankings from leas to greatest. Short and sweet, Las Vegas odds to win the title will appear next to the team name. Gambling is still illegal, along with prostitution and marijuana. Act accordingly.

5.) Toronto Raptors 200 to 1

They will be terrible. PG Jose Calderon is serviceable, and Demar Derozan will make a few highlight dunks, but their starting small forward is Linus Kleiza, and they paid Amir Johnson $34 million when no one else would have given him half that amount. I will pick them to win one big game this season: Wednesday, Feb. 16 2011 at home against the Miami Heat. Dwyane Wade may miss the game with an injury or a custody hearing. There may even be an "incident".

4.) Philadelphia 76ers 100 to 1

Doug Collins is the head coach (red flag number 1). Number 2 overall pick Evan Turner is suffering from maturity issues (red flag number 2). Elton Brand's knee (red flag number 3). Philly fans tortured by a Phillies NLCS upset, and the Eagles eventual January folding, will take all their anger and apathy out on this admittedly mediocre team (red flag number 4).

3.) New Jersey Nets 125 to 1

The fact that I predict they'll be better than the 76ers and the Raptors should be cause for celebration in New Jersey. That will be quite the improvement from last year's 12-70 season. Avery (Ayyy-VOR-EE) Johnson will lean heavily on his guards (Devin Harris, Terrence Williams, Jordan Farmar, and Anthony Morrow) who would all combine to make one better than average NBA point guard. Troy Murphy will also be a compliment as a rebounder alongside Brook Lopez. I predict a not-to-shaby 32 wins.

2.) New York Knicks 50-1

Amare' Stoudemire and Raymond Felton will indeed make that big of a difference, and once the trade for Carmelo Anthony is finally done (it's gonna happen) don't be surprised when you see the Knicks in the second round of the playoffs.

And for the record, if you don't want this Carmelo-to-NY trade to happen, you're one of those parity-loving socialist, you have abandonment issues, and you generally suck the life out of all fun things. Your friends hate you, and your father is extremely disappointed in the decisions you've made in life.

1.) Boston Celtics 8-1

Facts are facts. The Celtics had a lead in the 4th quarter of Game 7 of the NBA Finals just four months ago. This offseason they added a fourth future Hall of Famer (a motivated and in-shape Shaquille O'Neal), another O'Neal (Jermaine) to bang bodies, and one bad yellow mother shut-yo-mouth (I'm just talking about Delonte West). Not only did they make smart free agent signings, but they drafted well (guard Avery Bradley from Texas and forward Luke Harangody from Notre Dame). The Celtics are primed to make yet another deep playoff run, possibly challenging talented guys from South Beach.

Boston Celtics, Please Do Better.

I bet Glen Davis & Shaq had a big influence on this random act of "WTF". While it may marginally funny, it is also a little disturbing to see a group of giant grown men crumping in bath towels and shirtless to Waka Flocka's "Hard In The Paint" (pause). But that's just me...

There really isn't much to say about this. The video pretty much speaks for itself. All I know is this part of the reason I'm picking the Celts to finish 5th or 6th in the Eastern Conference (behind Miami, Orlando, Chicago, Atlanta and possibly Milwaukee). Adding the aging and immobile O'Neal's (Shaq & Jermaine, both who have habits of missing combined 60+ games a year) might not be enough to bring Boston back to the finals.

Get it together, gentlemen. Leave the dancing to the professionals.

-ALR

"Big Baby" At It Again...

Why this guy is shirtless, in a turbon and eating cereal with that giant bowl & spoon is beyond my vast comprehension abilities...

I think the Celtics need to send the same bodyguards/enforcers to watch Glen Davis that the Cowboys employed to keep an eye on Pacman Jones. You CANNOT leave this man alone anywhere there is a camera & internet access. Just watch this ustream video from last night (story via BSO). His twitter feed even suggests that he'll be back at it tonight. Oh joy.

I think I hear the short bus pulling up in the background...

-ALR