The B.S. Report podcast, when NBA-focused, is probably my favorite going right now. Joe House, a Wizards fan and funny dude, makes a good sidekick for Simmons when talking all the latest in pro hoops. But in their recent discussion about Ray Allen, Simmons said something that I took issue with:
Simmons: I think the thing people miss with Ray and the reason him and Rondo struggle to play together and struggle to get along.. Ray’s a… you know… everybody.. has to chip in to help Ray succeed. He’s runnin’ off double and triple screens. The point guard’s gotta pound the ball, twenty-five feet from the basket, for five, six seconds waiting for Ray to come around all these different things. And I think Rondo is starting to get frustrated. That, you know, they’re devoting so much time to helping Ray succeed, almost at the expense of his game. And when [Avery] Bradley was in there and Rondo could just do whatever he wanted, Bradley’s doing backcuts, all that stuff. That was such a better fit for Rondo’s game. I think that was part of the problem.
House: But that was just something that came to light last season. It’s not like that’s been going on for a long time. And it happened to coincide with, you know, Ray’s physical aging curve. He’s right at, kind of, the end of his career.
Even though Joe House did a solid job of quickly explaining Simmons’ comment away, it still bugged me when I listened to it. For two reasons: Continue reading
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