over the course of the Magic-Celtics series, it was obvious that Redick was starting to see what kind of a player he was going to be in the NBa. not surprisingly, this was in large part because of his finally getting significant minutes and being able to play through mistakes. it might surprise a lot of people, however, that he was doing a GREAT job of playing defense, reminding anyone who can put aside race-based comparisons of another long-time NBA player who could knock down the open 3-pointer and play tough defense ... Bruce Bowen.
that's right, Redick was playing TERRIFIC defense. going up against one of the best two guards in the NBA, Ray Allen, the supposedly "horrid" defense of Redick made Ray Allen earn every bucket and shoot a terrible percentage in all but one game.
more importantly, when Redick was on the floor with Allen, when Redick out-played Allen in the all-important plus-minus stat, the Magic won. when the former All-Star (and so forth) Allen managed to out-play the ever-ridiculed and despised Redick, the Celtics won. guess who got the best in the head to head and whose team won the series? you guessed it. Redick.
the notion that Redick can't play defense is ludicrous. i'll let the numbers speak for themselves, with the plus-minus stat emboldened:
Game 1 Ray Allen: 40:25; fg2-12; 3-pt 1-7; -15; 1 to; 9 pts.
J.J. Redick: 29:12; fg 3-5; 3-pt 2-4; -7; 0 to; 12 pts. Magic win.
Game 2 Ray Allen: 40:44; fg7-15; 3-pt 2-7; +19; 1 to;22 pts.
J.J. Redick: 24:46; fg 5-8; 3-pt 4-6; -11; 0 to;15 pts. Celtics win.
Game 3 Ray Allen: 32:41; fg3-13; 3-pt 0-5; -12;2 to;8 pts.
J.J. Redick: 27:27; fg 1-5; 3-pt 1-2; +20;2 to;5 pts. Magic win.
Game 4 Ray Allen: 46:55; fg6-13; 3-pt 0-5; +3;2 to;12 pts.
J.J. Redick: 23:38; fg 1-7; 3-pt 0-5; -4; 0 to (game-high 7 assists!); 2 pts. Celtics win.
Game 5 Ray Allen: 32:28; fg3-11; 3-pt 2-5; +9;4 to;13 pts.
J.J. Redick: 28:58; fg 1-6; 3-pt 1-4; 0; 0 to;3 pts. Celtics win.
Game 6 Ray Allen: 41:50; fg2-11; 3-pt 0-7; -8;4 to;5 pts.
J.J. Redick: 20:24; fg 0-7; 3-pt 0-2; +2;0 to; 2 pts. Magic win.
Game 7 Ray Allen: 41:27; fg9-18; 3-pt 3-6; -16;1 to;23 pts.
J.J. Redick: 24:23; fg 2-3; 3-pt 1-2; +8;0 to;5 pts. Magic win.
as you can see, whoever won the plus-minus in this match-up accurately predicted the winner of every single contest. every one!
while lazy or incompetent "analysts"are only capableof looking at who scored more points to see who won a given match-up, the truth is much more comprehensive than that. why? because there's a lot more to basketball than how many points an individual player scores.
for example, Allen was an integral part of the Celtics offensive game plan, as his high number of shots illustrates. meanwhile, Redick was only an afterthought in his team's offense, often taking a low-percentage shot at the end of the shot clock. (and this doesn't even factor in free throw attempts, and the favoritism a "star" gets over a designated role player.) and while Redick didn't shootas well asone would expect him to, his defense on Allen forced the much more highly regarded player to shoot very poorly, as well. and this killed the Celtics!
in fact, in the 7 contests, Allen only shot like his usual self in two games. not bad defending by Redick for a so-called "terrible defender," especially consideringthe Reggie Miller-type offense Boston was running to try and free Allen up for shots. (for those who don't know, Reggie Miller was a great shooter, but very slow, and usuallyhad to getopenby running off of two, three, and four screens).
so the next time you hear some dumbass talk about Redick as a defensive liability, just remember that he out-played Ray Allen for a Conference Championship.
