Allen vs. Allen

By Gary Dzen

November 7, 2007

1 minute to read

Celtics guard Ray Allen has been facing off against Nuggets guard Allen Iverson since the mid-nineties, when Allen was at UConn and Iverson was at Georgetown.

“There are things that I know that he does, his tendencies,” said Allen. “And I’ve shared them with [Rajon] Rondo.”

“It’s one thing to talk about. Being prepared is one thing. But then you’ve got to get out there and fight fatigue, fight the elements that might be out there on the court. I let him know, ‘this is kind of what he likes to do.’ All we want to do is take a guy out of his comfort zone, force him to do things he doesn’t like to do, and score that way.”

Allen said the role of the mentor doesn’t fall to any one of the veterans on the Celtics.

“I don’t think there’s one person that’s determined,” said Allen. “But the game has changed so much. You can scout teams on the internet. It’s not like we’re dry. We know it right away. It makes the game a little bit easier for you to prepare. But I can imagine 20 years ago, VHS, beta, you might not be getting the same footage of that guy, and you’re guessing when it starts.”