Just How Good Is Ray Allen? In A Word: Very

It's not a definite, of course, but it sure seems likely that Ray Allen will make two three-pointers Thursday night against the Los Angeles Lakers, and when he does, he'll become the NBA's career leader, surpassing Reggie Miller. 

We've already looked at just how Allen gets open for his shots, but just how good is he really? NBA.com's Stats Cube offers a thorough break down of Allen's game, and examine how one of the league's best shooters became so, well, great at shooting. 

The Stats Cube's John Schuhmann looks first at how many of his shots came after an assist -- 2106 of his 2559 made three-pointers (82.3 percent; league average is 85 percent) have followed a pass from a teammate. Amazingly enough, it's Rajon Rondo that has assisted on more of Allen's threes than any teammate that Allen has ever had -- in just 3 1/2 seasons. 

It also shows where Allen shoots from the most -- during his career, he's taken more than twice as many threes from the wings (1,580) as he has from the corners (716), with a whopping 33.4 percent of his attempted coming from the left wing. But it's the study of Allen's clutch shooting that is most impressive. 

When the Celtics need a last-minute three, they turn to Ray Allen, and more often than not, it seems like he delivers. And the numbers reflect that over the past three and a half years, especially since he's joined Boston. 

Last 30 sec. of 4th or OT, score tied or down 1-3 points

That's insane. 

Moreover, since joining the Celtics, no one has been more clutch than Allen:

Of those with at least 15 attempts (FGA + (.44*FTA) in the last 30 seconds of the fourth quarter or overtime with the score tied or his team down three points or less, Allen has the best true shooting percentage over the last 3 ½ seasons.

Highest true shooting percentage, last 30 seconds, tie game or down 1-3, since 2007-08

It's safe to say Allen's extra hours of daily shooting is paying off.