Steve Mitchell-USA Today Sports
The Miami Heat won their second straight NBA Finals championship title Thursday night over the San Antonio Spurs.
LeBron James again won the MVP in the Finals, while Ray Allen simply got a handshake and a nod for his performance. Without Allen, however, James would not have won his second Finals title or a second straight MVP. In fact, the entire Heat organization, including James, should thank Allen for that bright and shiny ring they now have on their finger.
Game 7 of the series was a good back-and-forth contest, but this highly-entertaining game would not have been played if it wasn’t for Allen.
Recall Game 6 with Spurs leading the series 3-2. With five seconds left in that game, Allen hits a 25-foot 3-point jumper to tie it and send it to overtime. The rest is obviously history, and the Heat are indebted to Allen for his remarkable final regulation time shot.
Allen averaged 24.9 minutes per game in the postseason while scoring 10.2 points per game. While everyone looked to the Big 3 to score, Allen was behind the scenes putting some points of his own on the board. Who is the top PPG player behind the Big 3 in the postseason? That would be Allen, of course.
The 37-year-old Allen came off the bench in every game for the Heat, which is a role he was not accustomed to, but it didn’t faze him one bit. He knew his abilities, and it didn’t matter whether he was a starter or not.
Allen always kept his composure, never getting suspended or committing a technical foul, unlike another player on his team. He knew that he could help his team win another NBA Finals by doing what he’s always done during his 16-year NBA career.
Tristen Challe is a writer for Rantsports. Follow him on Twitter @TristenChalle
