Routine excellence is Allen's secret

Links (9)

Celtics Relying on Rondo
Published 4/20/2008 by ManchvegasBob at Celtics 17
... To Rondo’s credit, not many expected him to make the leap in his sophmore NBA season that he has.  He is a student of the game, worked relentless on his jumper last summer, and in fact listens to the new veterans on the team, most notably Ray Allen.  In Jackie MacMullan’s article in the Sunday Globe,  she says that Rondo has made strides this season by following Ray Allen’s pregame routine, and has accepted the 12-year veteran as his mentor. ...

Big 3 On ESPN
Published 4/20/2008 by Scott (CEO) at BostonsportZ
... Here are Ray, Paul and KG on today's ESPN Sunday conversation. Paul and Ray give KG A hard time about an old jean jacket. Also if you missed today's article in the globe about Ray's OCD, check it out here. ...

Simmons: Awards for 'Rajon the Late Bloomer' and others
Published 4/25/2008 by Bill Simmons, Page 2 at ESPN Feed: Bill Simmons
... episode of 'The Closer' on TNT!" The Charles Barkley Award for "Most Awkward Running Subplot That Every TV Talking Head Will Be Terrified to Mention Except Possibly For Barkley If It's After 1:30 in the Morning Following a TNT Doubleheader" How 'bout the fact the Lakers-Nuggets series will bring Kobe to a Colorado hotel for four days? Hey now! Let's just move on before David Stern presses a button and my laptop blows up. The Raymond Babbit Award To Ray Allen, the subject of a mesmerizing Jackie MacMullan piece about his monotonous routines and borderline ...

Instant Game Notes: Jazz/Rockets Game Four
Published 4/27/2008 by Russ Bengtson at SLAM Online
... Even better, the telecast was delayed thanks to even more timing issues in Atlanta, as the Wal-Mart shotclocks failed, delaying the start of the second half by roughly three years. The routine-obsessed Ray Allen must have been going crazy. Well, crazier. ...

Down. Set. Shoot!
Published 5/3/2008 at Sports News and Other Cool Crap - The HOS
... and poster child for obsessive compulsive disorder Marvin Harrison is to my delight being questioned about a shooting that occured at his bar in Philly. (A shooting in Philly? No Way!) The guy that was shot at didn’t name Harrison as the shooter, but apparently the gun used was a one of a kind Belgian revolver that was registered to Harrison…and was recovered from a bucket in a car wash… also owned by Harrison. (wasn’t this an episode of Simon and Simon?) So what got into this guy? Did Ray Allen steal his Parking spot? Anyways,  what we’ve discovered so far is that ...

NBA Final Four Set. So much to love, so much to hate.
Published 5/20/2008 by Sam Rubenstein at SLAM Online
... Ah yes, the “Big Three.” It’s one thing for a guy to get old or worn down from a long season. Ray Allen, one of the best jump shooters ever, can’t hit wiiiiiiiiiiide open threes right now. Not even at home. And this is a guy who prepares and hones his craft like a serial killer. Paul Pierce is coming off a game 7 for the archives, but he’s been hit or miss so far. KG, someone who got MVP consideration because he changed the culture of a tanking team to a winner, screamed at bench warmers all year, stared at people with a lot of ...

Flapjacks
Published 6/3/2008 by PN (noreply@blogger.com) at Supersonicsoul - The Sonics Blog!
... But if you think about it, it’s not surprising at all. If you read Jackie MacMullen’s piece about Allen in the Boston Globe, you’re aware he’s borderline OCD, so perhaps it is less than revealing to find out his obsession to routine extends to the domestic front. Oddly disconcerting, yes, but not surprising. ...

One Request For Ray Allen
Published 6/10/2008 by Jim at Green Bandwagon: Front Page Posts
... Ever since roughly game 5 against the Pistons I have been happy with Ray Allen's contributions. He hit a huge shot in that game 5 down the stretch, came out of the gates on fire in the following game, carried it over to game 1 of the Finals where he grabbed 8 rebounds, played well in game 2, and did an admirable job against Kobe Bryant for stretches. And I dig the whole borderline OCD thing. Whatever it takes. However, over the last couple of weeks I have noticed a somewhat disturbing aspect of his game. Let me preface this by making an ill-fated ...

Boston Celtics YouTube Magic: Ray Allen Joking Around
Published 23 days ago by Jim at Green Bandwagon: Front Page Posts
... for "Boston Celtics YouTube Magic Week" are saved and scheduled for publish. Yet another reason SB Nation 2.0 would have been helpful on Celtics Bandwagon, my original site. One or two of you may recall my ill-fated 24 hours of YouTube day. In fact I may revisit that concept later this summer. Regardless let's start this week with a light hearted Ray Allen clip. I had to post it mainly because Allen came off as somewhere between serious and over the top intense in Jackie MacMullan's epic profile of him 3 months ago. So it's nice to see he can be loose. In hindsight I should ...