Ray Allen reveals LeBron James and the Miami Heat big three feared the Boston Celtics during the famous battles in the late 2000s.
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In the late 2000s, LeBron James and the Miami Heat fought some tough battles with the Boston Celtics. James’ final playoff run with the Cleveland Cavaliers before moving to Miami ended in defeat. In Miami, LeBron never lost a series to Boston, but he had to overcome internal conflict to defeat the dominant franchise that had previously defeated him.
Ray Allen, who played for two different championship teams and shared the floor with some of the greatest players in history, is the person who can most proudly claim to have been surrounded by an elite talent for the majority of his career.
With LeBron James passing Ray Allen for 2nd on the all-time #NBAPlayoffs threes list… look back at @KingJames reflecting on Allen’s historic, game-tying corner three-pointer in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals. #NBAVault
🏀: LAL (1-1) HOU, Game 3
⏰: 9:00 PM ET 📺: TNT pic.twitter.com/SX66QWml0T— NBA History (@NBAHistory) September 8, 2020
In the Boston Celtics’ Big 3 period in the late 2000s, Allen was a key player. Even though he had lost some agility, he was still a tremendous danger from beyond the arc and a dominant scorer. After that, he gave the Miami Heat a much-needed veteran presence and sharpshooter during their 2013 championship run.
Miami succeeded despite Ray Allen’s absence, but the addition of Allen altered the team’s composition in 2012–13. Boston was irrevocably damaged as a result, and Miami became nearly unbeatable. Allen came to the realization that the young Miami team had a mental block when playing the 2008 Champion Celtics at that point. This was discussed by Allen on “The Posecast.”
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Ray Allen reveals that LeBron James and Miami Heat feared the Boston Celtics’ big 3
In the late 2000s and early 2010s, Hall of Famer Ray Allen had the privilege of playing for two of the top teams in the league. He even won a championship while playing for the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics, in fact.
When the Celtics won the championship in 2008, Allen was an important part of the team, playing with players like Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. He left the C’s in 2012, choosing to sign as a free agent and take his skills to South Beach. He then understood how deeply Boston had stoked the collective dread of this dominant Miami squad.
These guys were terrified of us, just about everything we ran and did on a daily basis, Allen told ESPN. “The amazing part is, I discovered how petrified Miami was of Boston,” said Allen.
Allen’s relocation to Miami created quite a commotion. Garnett and company harbored resentment towards him because they saw it as an outright betrayal on Allen’s part.
Day 160 of 2019
Fun Fact: On this day 7yrs ago, the Miami Heat’s Big 3 eliminated the Boston Celtic’s Big 3 in Game 7 of the ECF. This would be the last game played together of the Celtic’s Big 3 as Ray Allen joined the Miami Heat next season. pic.twitter.com/Pn0QWas27d
— Edsel Jerome Laurel (@edsel4) June 9, 2019
We’re going to accept Allen’s word for it even if he didn’t explain why or how he knew how threatened Miami was by Boston. It is probably safe to assume that when he relocated to Miami, he also provided some of his own inside information.
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