| Can Ray Save The Day? Authored by Adam Epstein - September 15, 2005 - 2:39 pm
| Current Featured Columns | | Merry Christmas, Raptors Fans The Raptors might not be playing good basketball right now, but there are plenty of things for Toronto fans to be thankful for this holiday season.
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Watching the NBA last season, Ray Allen consistently provided two of the more beautiful basketball moments on the court. For one, his silky smooth jump shot was a treasure for all to behold. The other glorious moment was the huddle that he initiated at the end of every game with his teammates at centre court. These huddles provided an audience with a joyful sense of camaraderie that one would typically only see when watching college basketball. The Supersonics looked like a team that was not only there to win, but there to have fun doing it, and this made them the surprise team to root for last season. Those huddles, and the team philosophy can all be credited to Ray Allen; a player that showed he was more than a superstar last season, but he developed the craft of being a true team leader. And his team won. They won at a feverish pace and Ray Allen looked even better than he did playing one on one against Denzel. Despite this success, it is very difficult to believe that a sweet shot and a couple words at center court can bring this team back to the playoffs.
In an off-season in which almost every Western Conference powerhouse made changes for the better, the Supersonics suffered losses without making enough key acquisitions. One cannot expect Vitaly Potapenko (the Sonic’s projected starting center) to possibly compete with the great big men in the Western Conference. He is a bruiser, a thug that is probably delivered more bruises to his opponents than 12ft field goals. Luke Ridnour is a baby who may drop silly passes, but he still looks like he’s petrified when he’s on the court against more physical point guard like Marquis Daniels. The only established player asides from Allen is Rashard Lewis, who was last seen wearing a t-shirt and some bling at the end of the bench with a bad leg injury. The other offensive threat Vladimir Radmanovic hasn’t even signed with the team yet, and when he does he will not be very happy judging by the lack of success he had in free agency this past off-season. That leaves the team with one hope- Ray Allen. A player that prior to last season was highly criticized for his lack of leadership ability and his lack of durability throughout the season. The Sonics are banking him to have a season just like his last, otherwise the most exciting thing in Seattle come February might be watching the rain fall outside of Key Arena.
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