By Ray Allen Talks LeBron, Celtics Chances In 2010
July 12, 2010 – 9:30 am by Bunk
More reaction from around the league and sports world on LeBron James’ ‘Decision’. This time we check in with Boston Celtics shooting guard Ray Allen, who of course took a different approach to deciding his future. Rather than searching elsewhere or making much fanfare out of his situation, Allen re-signed with the Celtics to make another push at a championship with the guys he’s been at battle with. And he did so with next to no hoopla.
Allen joined The Scott Van Pelt Show on ESPN Radio to talk about LeBron’s decision, how he and his friends were watching intently to see what he would decide, how he thinks the Heat will be tough but how the Magic are still the team that gives Boston trouble, his thoughts on the revamped Eastern Conference, and how it was hard for him to get over losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games in this year’s NBA Finals.
On what he thought of LeBron’s decision and how he handled everything:
“It was interesting. Obviously for the last year or so, people have been wondering where LeBron was going to go. At first it seemed like it was going to be New York, then Chicago jumped up. And so many people were trying to organize their team. So as a team, personally on the Celtics, we look at is as another challenge. We still feel like Orlando is still the team that we have to beat. We’re obviously now looking at Miami now on our radar, we had a tough time with them in the playoffs so we as Celtics just need to focus on what we need to do to get better and get back to where we were last year and try to win a championship.”
On the process of LeBron’s decision:
Well it seemed like the way he went about it, he found a way to affect kids in a positive way. Obviously people wanted to get over the decision and hope he would say what he had to say so everybody could move on. But for him to do what he did for the kids, I thought that was awesome. I know we were all watching last night trying to figure out what he was going to do. But you know, it’s unfortunate. It’s a business but I know a lot of people in Cleveland are very upset, but we always talk about as a player, anytime you’ve got any leverage, you’ve got to make sure you take it, use it it to your advantage, because our playing days are very short. So he did that, he had the upper hand and he took advantage of what he had to take advantage of so he could better his situation. Hopefully he’s got 10, 12 more years of NBA then there’s nothing much more he can do; he’s got to take full advantage of it.”
On getting over such a tough series loss in the Finals against the Lakers:
“Well I was depressed for a little while and my teammates would echo those sentiments. You couldn’t sleep, it was like everything emotionally, everything physically we were doing was going into what we were doing. You talk about the series before then you grind it out into the Finals. You know, you really don’t want to go outside, there’s nothing really you can do that will satisfy you and then I think being around friends and family and just trying to enjoy the summer…so for me, I’m just getting to the point where my body’s starting to heal itself, and then mentally I’m just starting to do some running on the street and doing things like that. But it never leaves you. It stays with you all summer.”
On if he thinks there’s been a shift of power from the Western to the Eastern Conference with all the free agency developments:
“Well the records might not have indicated it last yer and the year before, but if you look at it in 2008 when Atlanta pushed us to 7 games, they were better than their record indicated. They stepped up and proved that they were one of the better teams in the NBA, so for the longest time the Atlanta Hawks weren’t doing so well and then they brought themselves into prominence in the NBA, and then even the teams that didn’t make the playoffs were still competitive. There weren’t many easy wins for us this year and there were a lot of teams that beat us that we had handled pretty easily the year before. So the records may not indicate it, but the East was pretty good this year…And those teams, you know, Chicago’s going to be a lot better and New York’s definitely going to make some noise. So it will definitely be very interesting.”
Listen here to Allen with the Scott Van Pelt Show on ESPN Radio (interview begins at 6:30 mark)
Tags: is LeBron as good as Kobe and MJ?, LeBron James signs with Miami Heat, players react to LeBron’s decision, Ray Allen, why did LeBron leave the Cavaliers
Post a Comment
Name (required)
E-mail (will not be published) (required)
Website
Comments