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2006 Sonics Report Card - Ray Allen

Big Chris: A-

At 30, Ray Allen is still one of the most potent offensive weapons in the NBA. His jumper is so sweet it makes my teeth hurt. He has given the Sonics leadership and identity as a team. He is willing and able to hit big shots to win games. He also called for the hiring of Bob Weiss. Ray also had a period this season where his offensive game wasn't clicking like it should (though he still managed to get his points in the end). I suspect some of that can be attributed to the wear and tear of an NBA schedule, and some of it to inter-team turmoil at the time. Ray finished the season 21st in the league in efficiency.

Scott: A

Another year as the best shooter in the league.

SonicsMan: B

Great individual year, a classy person and player, but he needs to lead more on the defensive end. With his numbers, if the team had made the playoffs I would have given him an A+.

Mr. Baker: A-

As a team captain, he had a career year on offense. He needs to defend better. Sometimes the offense
was working too hard and wasting time to get Ray the ball and not moving on to a second option for a play.

Brian Robinson: B-

This is the area that I think I disagree with most people on. Sure Ray scored a ton this year, but in general I thought that both his consistency and his all around playmaking game were not as strong as in the past. Last season it seemed like he was perpetually involving other teammates, moving the offense, and setting things up even when he didn't get the pass. This season he settled for the 3 ball a lot more. Further that with the fact that as our team leader he simply has to be accountable for the overall record AND he has to be accountable as one of the primary advocates of the Bob Weiss hiring. Ray gets responsibility for the team in a lot of ways.

Steve: B-

There are a lot of insightful comments in the posts above but no more so than Brian's. I agree that Ray had an excellent individual year but he didn't show the overall game that we've seen in previous years. The two things I believe set this season apart from Ray's first as a Sonic was that he didn't necessarily make the other players on the floor with him better and he still doesn't provide leadership on both sides of the floor. Ray doesn't seem to be a fiery guy by nature but at times I'd like to see him take that role, especially defensively. No question he's one of the premier offensive perimeter players in the NBA, but as leader of this team I have to hold him to a high standard. No player in the NBA this year was more important to his team playing well than Ray. If he wasn't going offensively the team stunk; on the other hand when he wasn't on the floor they were the worst team in the league this year in Roland rating, if memory serves.

CUMULATIVE GRADE: B