Settling an age-old debate with the help of Rajon Rondo and a few friends, finally an answer to the “who wears short shorts?” question and an idea of what to expect with Jae Crowder injured, a look back at the Celtics last week:
Last week: The Boston Celtics, missing center Al Horford (concussion), handed the Bulls their first loss of the season, 107-100, on Wednesday. Boston also lost versatile starting forward Jae Crowder (sprained ankle) before halftime. LeBron James (30 points) and the Cleveland Cavaliers topped short-handed Boston, 128-122, on Thursday. The C’s suffered a 16-point loss to the Nuggets on Sunday.
This week: The C’s visit Washington on Wednesday (7 p.m.), host divisional rival New York on Friday (7:30 p.m.) and cap the week with a visit to Indiana on Saturday (7 p.m.).
Congrats to Ray Allen on ending an NBA career many thought had already ended.
The best 3-point shooter in league history called it a career last week, announcing on the Players’ Tribune his retirement plans.
This announcement triggered a debate among radio pundits and Boston sports fans, one that has been acknowledged in the past but grew mostly dormant in recent years.
The question: Should the Celtics retire Ray Allen’s No. 20, which he wore over the course of five seasons in Boston?
The answer: Nope.
Thanks for the banner, Ray Ray. But that’s the only thing you’ll be hanging in the rafters at TD Garden.
The real tragedy here is that yes, Allen will most certainly be enshrined in Springfield, Mass., someday, right next to all the 3-point shooters he spent years chasing. But I’m not sure any team will be retiring his number.
He hit a big shot for Miami but it’d be hard to imagine Allen’s number being retired by the same team that will likely choose not to honor LeBron James’s No. 6 out of pure bitterness.
Maybe Milwaukee will open its rafters to Allen, but he only spent six years there in the very beginning of his career.
Seattle won’t be retiring any numbers any time soon and we can pretty much guarantee OKC won’t be retiring the number of a guy who never played a minute in its uniform.
The point being, Ray Allen’s number certainly should be retired by someone, somewhere, for his 3-point shooting prowess alone. But when Rajon Rondo is one of very few publicly proclaiming that your number should be retired in Boston – alongside greats like Bob Cousy, Larry Bird and Bill Russell – maybe you shouldn’t get your hopes up.
After all, Allen’s departure – to join up with King James and the new Big 3 no less – felt a little more personal. Especially when Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce departed Boston as a package deal for Little Brother Brooklyn, which, of course, led to all those high draft picks.
In my opinion, Allen’s number will never hang in those coveted rafters Boston cherishes so much.
Let’s see what the Monitor’s panel of “experts” say:
Sports reporter Jay McAree: “Of the 19 players whose number hangs from the rafters in TD Garden, none of them played as few seasons with the Celtics as Allen’s five. Love the guy, but needed more time in Boston or that title in 2010 to earn a spot up there.”
Monitor news columnist Ray Duckler: “Why retire Ray Allen’s number? For scoring 17 points per game? For averaging three assists per game? For playing five seasons? For winning one title? Not enough in my book. Greatness is often given away far too easily.”
Sports reporter Nick Stoico: “I think of the Big 3, only Pierce should be retired by the Celtics. Not meant to be a knock on Garnett or Allen but I think longevity with the organization should be considered when retiring a number.”
Night editor Michael Pezone: “Not a chance. With just one world championship on his Celtic resume, I’d need proof the man bleeds green before I help raise his No. 20 into the rafters. And the choices Ray Ray made during the summer of 2012 tell me the only green he cares about is money.”
Who wears short shorts? Jaylen Brown wears short shorts. Why, you may ask?
“… because Jaylen Brown feels comfortable in short shorts,” according to the man himself.
The Celtics rookie has taken heat on social media already this season. And believe it or not, it has nothing to do with his actual play as a 19-year-old rookie.
What do the fans want to talk about? His fashion sense, apparently.
It’s become such a point of conversation that Mass Live Celtics beat reporter Jay King felt the need to write a story about the length of Brown’s shorts.
And thank god he did.
Brown simply told the world, “I don’t care if (fans) like them or not. I don’t do it for other people. … I’m just trying to be as comfortable as I can on the floor.”
Now, most of us logical basketball fans couldn’t give two craps how he wears his shorts. As long he keeps coming to the gym every day and working hard to get better, he can wear bikini bottoms for all I care. Let the man live.
Crowder will likely miss at least a week with a left ankle sprain, which he suffered in a nasty fall Wednesday. The 6-foot-6-inch small forward sprained his left ankle in March last season and missed nine games. Crowder was far from himself when he returned. After collecting a plus-200 plus/minus rating through the first 66 games of the 2015-16 season, he was minus-37 in the 13 games following his injury.
In the 13 games before the sprained ankle, Crowder averaged 16.1 points per game, one of the most-effective and consistent stretches of his career in Boston. The Marquette product averaged 11.2 points per game in the 13 contests following the injury, including the playoffs.
When Crowder is healthy, he is more effective and the Celtics play better. It’s that simple.
His defensive skills were sorely missed in Thursday’s loss to the Cavaliers. Crowder typically matches up with LeBron James when the two teams face off. Although Crowder’s absence gave Jaylen Brown a chance to match-up with one the greatest in the game, this team will be better off when Crowder returns fully healthy.
Luckily for the Celtics, they’ve got nothing but time. With a relatively easy nine-game stretch approaching, there’s no need to rush Crowder back. Boston can piece it together until he returns and it’ll open up opportunities for Brown to contribute and continue to learn.
(Michelle Berthiaume can be reached at 369-3338, mberthiaume@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @MonitorMichelle.)
.@CJC9BOSS hops off the court after suffering an ankle injury in the 2nd quarter https://t.co/YzjljxG3Xj
— CSN New England (@CSNNE) November 3, 2016