Unfortunately this team is completing a horrible stretch, which Ray Allen’s been partially responsible for no doubt.  And so it seems that the conventional wisdom is as follows:

One Expiring Contract + Slump + Trade Deadline Looming =

Trade Ray Allen for Monta Ellis or Insert Gun-Slingers Name’s Here

This just doesn’t make too much sense to me, and as Jackie MacMullen said on WEEI’s The Dale and Holley show yesterday, perhaps I’m one of the sentimental fans (who MacMullen admitted to love) that happen to stick by their Boston sports heroes.  But again, Ray Allen isn’t just any old hero, he’s very relevant to what the Celtics do and he’s got this intangible thing of making the other folks better on the court.  I’m talking about being the consummate team-mate in a game driven by highlight reels, and points, rebounds and assist stats.

But I want to re-iterate, the Celtics kind of fall apart when he’s not on the court.  The team doesn’t quite fall apart when Paul Pierce or Kevin Garnett are off the court, but they do when Ray isn’t on the court.  Why?  There are a number of reasons, but Ray Allen’s shooting is still the best barring the shooting slumps that any shooter perseveres through.  In fact, there’s a sense that the Celtics would be selling low on Allen because he’s going through a putrid shooting slump which includes going 13 for 49 from 3-point for a 26.5% during the last 10 games.  Do not be fooled!

So Ray Allen is an easy target right now, and the thinking is that someone who is going to be 35 this summer simply isn’t going to be getting better in the foreseeable future.  From an efficiency stand-point, he’s having his worst year since his rookie season.  The thinking is - he’s definitely on the down-side of his career and could be washed up very soon if not at this moment.  Is that what you think, uh?

I would contend that there’s something to be said for a guy that is simply the consummate team-mate in addition to being the wily veteran and quality shooter he is.  There just aren’t any players in the NBA that can fill that bill or will in the near future.  Especially a player like Monta Ellis that feeds off of an over-paced Golden State Warriors offense/no-defense system or Kirk Hinrich who is the most over-rated player to be named on an all-defensive team.

Sure – I know the box score stats don’t reflect that Ray Allen is still one of the better shooting guards in game (his PER ranks 44^th amongst guards this season), and quite frankly, the points haven’t been there for Ray Allen since he’s been a member of the Boston Celtics.  This ubuntu concept that the Celtics profess as a team doesn’t exactly show-case the players in the box score, as Pierce and Garnett have all sacrificed to make this thing work.  If you want stats – move to Golden State and be a me-first guy like Monta Ellis and relish in the role of glitz and no substance, ergo no wins.

All players know and respect Ray Allen – and a result he can never be left unguarded.  Now I get to sell one of my earlier articles – Ray Allen is the unabashed Plus/Minus leader for the Celtics.  The recent losing has taken it’s toll on this team’s stats, but Ray-Ray still holds that mantle according to www.basketballvalue.com, with KG being a close second.

I would even contend that the 34-year old Allen should still be in the all-star conversation.  His non-selection to the All-Star game this year is simply because the East has their Celtics quota with Rondo joining Pierce and Garnett.  D-Wade and Joe Johnson of course should be there along with Rondo and Pierce.  But Allen Iverson and Derrick Rose?  The popularity contest has taken over, and subsequently things that matter but don’t show up in the box score fall to the way side.

There are a lot of other issues with the Celtics, and perhaps the pundits should think about Rasheed Wallace staying in the box more, Eddie House getting his shot back, Rondo making better decisions in the 4^th quarter, Garnett getting his leg healthy, Kendrick Perkins ignoring the referees, getting Marquis Daniels back from injury, etc.

I’m not 100% pleased with Ray Allen, as I am still smarting from the 2008 play-offs where we witnessed Ray Allen driving us crazy with his inconsistency against the Hawks and Cavaliers, but he still took up the other teams attention, and he ended up being a very close second to Paul Pierce as the MVP for the NBA Finals in my opinion.  On a side note, I will give a dollar to anyone that can explain how Wally Szczerbiak contained Ray Allen during the 2008 CLE series.  In the 2009 playoffs, both Pierce and Allen simply wore down and that is where Marquis Daniels and a healthy Tony Allen should help this year, but both have missed significant time and Ray Allen continues to log the most minutes of any of the starters.  He’s a machine – move over Sasha!

So what to do with Ray Allen?  You stay the course and overlook that he’ll be 35 this season.  You acknowledge that Ray Allen is built like a stallion and will be able to run and keep playing at a high level until he’s 40 like John Stockton and Ray’s protégé - Reggie Miller - were able to do.  It appears that Steve Nash and Jason Kidd are on the same track as well, and so the Celtics would be wise to treat Ray Allen the same way as the Suns do Nash and the Mavericks do Kidd.

Heck, you can sign Ray-Ray for good money this summer for a one year deal this summer and still have an expiring contract next year which aligns with Paul Pierce’s expiring contract next year.  Or you can do a 2-yr deal and have Garnett and Rasheed Wallace’s expiring contracts coincide with Ray’s– just imagine the possibilities if you want to wheel and deal.  But this talk of jettisoning Ray Allen for the latest and greatest is a classic “sell low – buy high” scheme if you ask me, and a total disrespect of one of the greatest shooting guards in NBA history.

Ray Allen said that he bleeds green and I believe him, and his value to the organization remains at the highest level.  Now do you want me to tell you how I really feel?