Ray Allen: ‘The League is a Lot Softer’

• Add a Comment
• x

  Invite a Friend

  Your name:
  Your email:
  Friend name:
  Friend email:
  
  Invite a friend
• Share
• RSS

• neaorin Posted: Apr.21 at 11:11 am
  Let’em play.

• zack Posted: Apr.21 at 11:22 am
  people get ejected and suspended now for stuff they may not have even got a technical foul for before about the mid 90′s. To me, the pinnacle of touch fouls and bad officiating was the 2006 Eastern conference finals wear all you had to do was BREATHE on Dwayne Wade to send him to the foul line. probably was like that in the finals against the Mavs too but I didnt even watch that crap. Star treatment at it’s worst.

• dirty frank Posted: Apr.21 at 11:32 am
  I agree with zack. The star treatment is out of control.

• riggs Posted: Apr.21 at 11:40 am
  whats with the dry snitching jesus shuttlesworth!? lol

• NDP Posted: Apr.21 at 11:47 am
  While I definitely agree that the league is much softer, it’s really hard for any Celtic to mention anything on the topic while Paul Pierce is flailing around the court and acting like a diva.

• funkdoc Posted: Apr.21 at 11:52 am
  I agree with NDP. yeah, the league is softer, but superstars tend to embrace that and exploit it even. Paul Pierce puts the S in soft…and he knows he’ll get the calls cause he’s a superstar

• mj23 Posted: Apr.21 at 11:53 am
  I agree with Ray, “the league is a lot softer”. Back in the day with guys like Oakley, Mahorn, Laimbeer, Anthony Mason, Rodman (the list goes on and on) there used to be hard fouls. Nowadays, players are worried about being suspended and fined. I think since the Pacers-Pistons brawl of ’04, the league has tried to soften it’s image and they’ve gone to the other extreme.

• davidR Posted: Apr.21 at 12:12 pm
  not to mention you’ll get T’d up just for looking at somebody the wrong way, or having a few words. these are grown ass dudes playing, not middleschool kids. feels like 1984 (the book) the way things have been reffed the past few years. but i guess that’s what happens when stern is worried about another malice at the palace incident. any and all possibilities of things getting out of control get stopped quick.

• davidR Posted: Apr.21 at 12:19 pm
  in general though, the refs needa let them play. it’s ridiculous that the slightest bump and a fakeass fall lead to refs calling fouls, or that ANY contact during a drive is a foul. anybody catch al horford’s drive+dunk leading? stackhouse barely touched him and they called a foul anyway. then there’s this “flagrant” from wade to evans from last year’s playoffs. i swear, the refs just need to see you fall and they’ll call a foul on the nearest dude: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HweDVGBIsHo

• ClutchPerformer Posted: Apr.21 at 12:22 pm
  its true, the Jordan Rules, The Bad boys, The Knicks etc. examples of tough basketball, couldnt happen now, because stern is so worried about public image ever since piston pacer brawl, and media was calling the league thugs in jerseys. this is what happens when your sport is like 90% black, not a real percentage but you get it, cuz hockey fights more, baseball has a bench clearing brawl almost every year, or someone rushes the mound or managers cant abuse the ump, and they got steroids, but none of these sports get labelled thugs or get the bad press the NBA does , because its not a league where black people are the faces of the league, if a coach yelled at a ref like in baseball, major fines. just taunting is a technical

• Ghost (of Roy Tarpley) Posted: Apr.21 at 12:38 pm
  clutch performer, so true. there’s footage of boston bruins player going into the stands with skates on to lay a fan out. Some nhl players were charged with assualt in a criminal case. Basketball is probably the most civil sport of the big 4. Still they get the worst rep

• Mr. RLW Posted: Apr.21 at 12:39 pm
  I LOVE, how it’s a SHOOTING GUARD, who isn’t known for driving making this statement. LOL Okay, so I cut my teeth on watching the playoffs that Jesus Shuttlesworth is eluding to. But dude, this is not new news. Old heads and purists have been saying this for the past 10+ years. Come with something new Ray. As for that elbow that KG got suspended for, bruh. He’da got suspended back then too. You can’t even make the claim that it happened during the course of play. No rebound was grabbed… that was “mu’phucka get back” elbow. But anyway, Ray, shut the hell up and play ball. This is old news. We all know the league is softer now versus yesteryear… AND?!? Keep it moving.

• JL Posted: Apr.21 at 1:18 pm
  the dwade thing was funny when he pushed dirk and got to shoot foul shots. that was just amazing. dirk shoulda had a championship ring already, and wade none.

• Tommy Patron Posted: Apr.21 at 1:27 pm
  @ ClutchPerformer-IMO the Bad Boys and, even moreso, Riley’s Knicks and first Heat teams are the cause of the current state of affairs when it comes to calls. The teams I mentioned turned basketball ugly to an extreme degree TRYING to beat MJ. It took YEARS(and eventual rule changes)for the NBA to recover. Now it’s the WNBA.

• truthteller Posted: Apr.21 at 1:29 pm
  What did Ray have to say about Paul Pierce acting like a little b$#@% like he always does that caused this whole mess in the first place?

• Th3_R3al_Chris Posted: Apr.21 at 1:38 pm
  Nevermind the talk of how dirty Kevin Garnett is or how much of an actor Paul Pierce is, but if any NBA fan ever made the attempt to question Ray Allen’s character? That’s a true “hater.”

• Rob Posted: Apr.21 at 2:09 pm
  Everybody knows this. Garnet is still an a******

• Gerard Himself Posted: Apr.21 at 2:18 pm
  The softer league is my biggest problem with the NBA today. The T’s that players get for blinking their eyes, the fact that as a big man you can’t play D… it’s awful.

• Anton Posted: Apr.21 at 2:28 pm
  This is the same guy who wanted to shorten the 82 game season because he is le tired.

• Jukai Posted: Apr.21 at 3:22 pm
  I know the L’s softer, but if Garnett clocked someone in the face during a timeout in 1974, he’d be suspended. This is a dumb complaint.
  And I think the charges/restricted area/three second rule are worse for basketball than ticky-tack fouls

• sam Posted: Apr.21 at 4:30 pm
  it must be tough after getting your eye popped out

• MF Posted: Apr.21 at 4:40 pm
  Jesus, the man is smooth

• Michael Scorn Posted: Apr.21 at 4:42 pm
  So, LeBron is dominating in a softer league.

• BostonBaller Posted: Apr.21 at 5:35 pm
  Come on dude, Ray just answered the same question that has been asked 1000′s of times in the last 72 hours; now one or two people are going to say he wouldn’t have said it if the tides had been turned. Wrong! As far as old news, I’m sure Ray knows this and of course a vet jokingly wants the season shortened..Don’t question a stand up guy who is in better shape than most young players. Imagine how many more points MJ would have gotten in this “softer” L? The Bad Boys and
  Knicks would have some of our current stars crying. hahaha

• erich Posted: Apr.21 at 6:00 pm
  If the season is shortened the games would be a lot more important and because of that a lot more classy and intense.
  82 games is just to much.

• davidR Posted: Apr.21 at 7:16 pm
  sam, i think you’re confusing jesus with allan ray

• letsmotor Posted: Apr.21 at 7:54 pm
  you’re right about MJ, BostonBaller. late 80′s MJ would average 40-45 in today’s game.

• The Philosopher Posted: Apr.21 at 8:50 pm
  Didn’t Jo Jo English kick Ray Allen’s ass one year?

• Jukai Posted: Apr.21 at 9:08 pm
  Late 80′s MJ has never seen zone defenses and restricted area charge calls, all which immediately hurt his driving abilities. Look, there’s a good chance he’d average more points, but I hate when people just ASSUME it. C’mon now.

• PlanetAsia14 Posted: Apr.21 at 9:38 pm
  Ray Allen, you’re the one to talk?

• letsmotor Posted: Apr.21 at 9:53 pm
  those may be good points Jukai, but to me, if Jordan could play as well as he did against the bad boys and late 80s-early 90s knicks, there’s not much he can’t do against ANY type of defense.

• TallGuy Posted: Apr.21 at 10:11 pm
  The Celtic Haters are just jealous of Paul Pierce’s Magic Wheelchair! LOL I miss the days of Dennis Rodman and Bill Laimbeer.

• Dave Posted: Apr.21 at 10:36 pm
  @Jukai: After the Kermit business, maybe, but I believe Wilt backhanded someone into the second row and still finished the game.

• letsmotor Posted: Apr.21 at 11:22 pm
  @PlanetAsia14: Uh… what do you mean by that exactly?

• Sporting-Lisbon-Blazers Posted: Apr.22 at 12:09 am
  paul pierce is a pu$$y!

• Flud Posted: Apr.22 at 4:06 am
  sigh….

• Morgan Posted: Apr.22 at 6:51 am
  “not to mention you’ll get T’d up just for looking at somebody the wrong way, or having a few words” @DavidR – have you heard how much these guys moan/complain? trash talking to other players is one thing, but the amount they moan to the refs is disgraceful at times. I have only seen a handful of times (in years!) where a player has stuck their hand up in the air and said “my bad” on a foul call, but I guarentee not a game goes by where there isn’t a player moaning to the ref while the other team shoots free-throws. The “superstars” (+ Sheed) are the worst at it, which is why they’ll go to the line more.

• Morgan Posted: Apr.22 at 6:57 am
  *and I meant Sheed for moaning, not going to the foul line. Although he could do with some easy buckets.

• German Reignman Posted: Apr.22 at 7:23 am
  YEAH, the league is softer … you can even elbow opponets in the nut$ and still get away with it …

• Dacre Posted: Apr.22 at 8:54 am
  Rob Posted: Apr.21 at 2:09 pm
  Everybody knows this. Garnet is still an a******
  ____
  It’s okay Rob you can say the whole word nowadays…! Charles did!
  

• Sam Posted: Apr.22 at 9:00 am
  Watch any old game tapes from the 90′s and you can see how much more physical the game used to be…refs are too eager to blow their whistles..let em play..bring back taunting too!

• MooButter Posted: Apr.22 at 9:51 am
  An exasperated Ray Allen went on to say, “Back in the day it was perfectly acceptable to elbow a player straight in the junk during a dead ball while he is talking to the ref. What is this league coming to?”

• The Philosopher Posted: Apr.22 at 10:50 am
  Jikai: The zone wouldn’t have hindered Jordan either.

• NUPE Posted: Apr.22 at 5:02 pm
  The rules of the game have changed and has gotten softer. As long as all players have to deal with them, then I’m fine with it. If players flail or flop to get a call, and they get it – that’s just paart of todays game and they are taking advantage of it. Just like the Pistons/Knicks ‘got away’ with some rather agressive play back in the day. Hack-a-shaq, jordan rules, hand checking, touch fouls, zone d, etc.. all made and make the game different than what it use to be so it’s hard to say what players would have played better/worse in any given era. Bron in built like a tank and without Zone D and with ‘harder’ fouls he may have been better in the 80′s/90′s than he is under today’s game. In today’s game MJ would get to the line more but not sure how he would have done facing zone d more often. Both players would be great in either era, but just because it’s softer now doesn’t mean it takes any less talent or effort to play well. What a softer game likely does mean is less injuries and longer careers.

• Seven Duece Posted: Apr.22 at 6:45 pm
  When exactly has Ray Allen been expected to play defense?

• letsmotor Posted: Apr.22 at 7:04 pm
  @ Seven Duece: Did you watch the 2008 finals? he played great defense on kobe. i’m not saying it was all him–pierce, posey and general team defense helped a lot, but when ray played him he did a great job.

• letsmotor Posted: Apr.22 at 7:05 pm
  besides, he’s been an above average (not great) defender for most of his career before and after those finals.

• BostonBaller Posted: Apr.23 at 5:45 am
  Zone..you talk’n ’bout zone…not man but zone?….lol. Do you see how some of these stars go through these “zones”? With MJ’s talent I’m sure he would have been able to do much damage plus his jumper was more reliable than a lot of todays stars. Complaining has always been part of the game, it’s just so much so in the past few years. I agree, Ray has always played more than respectable defense, especially against top players. Who says Ray doesn’t drive? Don’t let that sweet j fool you, he has always had a nice driving game….and I believe Ray is one of those players who has “just raised his hand” to admit to a foul w/ little more than a smirk. He isn’t a saint but compaired to most athletes….

• Big Mike Posted: Apr.27 at 5:16 pm
  NDP is right – but I think Ray was calling out his teammate Pierce, not being hypocritical. You see, it hurts quality players when anyone cheats at the game by crying wolf, and that includes Pierce (and Boozer, Kobe, Chris Paul and Stephen Jackson to name a few of the most egregious). It degrades the sense of fair play in the league. The players who don’t do it, and by “it” I mean b*tch and b*tch and b*tch, are my guys: Durant. Deron Williams. Dirk Nowitzki. Joe Johnson. Lebron. Sure, once in a while they will challenge a call but they don’t do it EVERY SINGLE TIME. C’mon NBA players and coaches – leave the drama to the scoreboard and let the refs call the game.

• Big Mike Posted: Apr.27 at 5:17 pm
  NDP is right – but I think Ray was calling out his teammate Pierce, not being hypocritical. You see, it hurts quality players when anyone cheats at the game by crying wolf, and that includes Pierce (and Boozer, Kobe, Chris Paul and Stephen Jackson to name a few of the most egregious). It degrades the sense of fair play in the league. The players who don’t do it, and by “it” I mean bi*** and bi*** and bi***, are my guys: Durant. Deron Williams. Dirk Nowitzki. Joe Johnson. Lebron. Sure, once in a while they will challenge a call but they don’t do it EVERY SINGLE TIME. C’mon NBA players and coaches – leave the drama to the scoreboard and let the refs call the game.