NBA Finals 2013: Ray Allen yet another Heat player scorned by Spurs
LeBron James isn’t the only member of the Heat going into the NBA
Finals against the Spurs with a little revenge on his mind. Reserve
guard Ray Allen has some history here, too.
Back in 2005, Allen was at the peak of his talents, having led Seattle past Sacramento in the opening round of the playoffs, averaging 32.4 points. In the conference semis, Allen faced his nemesis—the Spurs and defensive whiz Bruce Bowen.
Ray
Allen was defeated by the Spurs in the 2004-05 season, as a member of
the Seattle SuperSonics. He meets them again in the NBA Finals. (AP
Photo)
Over the course of the season, Allen had called out Bowen for being a
dirty defensive player, labeling his style, “sissy basketball.” That
had the home crowd riled up against Allen in the series, which the Spurs
wound up taking in six games. The Sonics lost the opener thanks in part
to an ankle injury that limited Allen to just 13 minutes.
“I remember it pretty vividly,” Allen said. “They have a rowdy building there in San Antonio. They have educated fans, they’ve been through four championships so they understand what it takes for their team to win and win the big one. Those guys have a lot of experience.
"You can’t go in thinking it’s supposed to be one way. We have to make sure we stay ahead of the curve. We can’t have lulls. We can’t come out and feel our way around, we have to come out and attack and be aggressive the whole time.”
— NBA Finals preview: Defense on James, Parker | Meeting of opposites | Series schedule
— Linemakers: Game 1 and series props | NBA Finals odds
While Bowen has since retired, Allen is hoping to play a key role for the Heat. His former Sonics teammate Rashard Lewis—who averaged 20.5 points for Seattle in the ’04-’05 season—is likely to remain on the bench in the Finals, but Allen seemed to break out of what had been a nine-game shooting slump by making three big 3-pointers in the second quarter of Game 7 of the East finals.
He said having faced the Spurs before in a postseason series won’t be of much help because San Antonio, though they have the same Big Three of Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili, is a different team. While everything went through Duncan back when Allen faced the Spurs, it’s now Parker who is the focal point.
“There’s no way to prepare for it,” Allen said. “We do what we do, we focus on the things we want to run, but there’s never really a way to prepare for them—it’s more we have to make sure we do what we do, and then understand their personnel and what they like to do and how they score.
"When we start Game 1, Tony Parker is their key guy, their motor, their catalyst, the guy who gets them going. There is going to be a huge precedent placed on Mario Chalmers defensively, making sure he keeps him in front of him."
If that happens, then perhaps Allen—as well as James and Lewis—can be happy with some measure of revenge on the Spurs.
Back in 2005, Allen was at the peak of his talents, having led Seattle past Sacramento in the opening round of the playoffs, averaging 32.4 points. In the conference semis, Allen faced his nemesis—the Spurs and defensive whiz Bruce Bowen.
Ray
Allen was defeated by the Spurs in the 2004-05 season, as a member of
the Seattle SuperSonics. He meets them again in the NBA Finals. (AP
Photo)“I remember it pretty vividly,” Allen said. “They have a rowdy building there in San Antonio. They have educated fans, they’ve been through four championships so they understand what it takes for their team to win and win the big one. Those guys have a lot of experience.
"You can’t go in thinking it’s supposed to be one way. We have to make sure we stay ahead of the curve. We can’t have lulls. We can’t come out and feel our way around, we have to come out and attack and be aggressive the whole time.”
— NBA Finals preview: Defense on James, Parker | Meeting of opposites | Series schedule
— Linemakers: Game 1 and series props | NBA Finals odds
While Bowen has since retired, Allen is hoping to play a key role for the Heat. His former Sonics teammate Rashard Lewis—who averaged 20.5 points for Seattle in the ’04-’05 season—is likely to remain on the bench in the Finals, but Allen seemed to break out of what had been a nine-game shooting slump by making three big 3-pointers in the second quarter of Game 7 of the East finals.
He said having faced the Spurs before in a postseason series won’t be of much help because San Antonio, though they have the same Big Three of Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili, is a different team. While everything went through Duncan back when Allen faced the Spurs, it’s now Parker who is the focal point.
“There’s no way to prepare for it,” Allen said. “We do what we do, we focus on the things we want to run, but there’s never really a way to prepare for them—it’s more we have to make sure we do what we do, and then understand their personnel and what they like to do and how they score.
"When we start Game 1, Tony Parker is their key guy, their motor, their catalyst, the guy who gets them going. There is going to be a huge precedent placed on Mario Chalmers defensively, making sure he keeps him in front of him."
If that happens, then perhaps Allen—as well as James and Lewis—can be happy with some measure of revenge on the Spurs.
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