The Rapid Descent

Basketball fans, notably fans of the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics, know that in Game 2 of the current NBA Finals, Ray Allen broke a record for most three pointers made in a Finals game. His line was ridiculous as he carried his team early on, finishing with 32 points on 11-20 shooting (8-11 from downtown). The previous record was seven, held by himself, Kenny Smith and Scottie Pippen. To break away from that group is an impressive accomplishment.

However, Allen followed it up by taking a massive dump on the court in Game 3 shooting 0-13 (0-8 from downtown) and finishing with a paltry two points in 42 minutes of play. He went from a complete stud to a total non-factor in one game. How does something like that happen? Who knows, but our small sample size suggests that it might not really be that uncommon.

Ray Allen (Game 2, 2010 Finals): 43 min, 32 pts, 11-20 FGM-A, 8-11 3PM-A, 2-2 FTM-A, 3 reb, 2 ast,
Ray Allen (Game 3, 2010 Finals): 42 min, 2 pts, 0-13 FGM-A, 0-8 3PM-A, 2-2 FTM-A, 4 reb, 2 ast

Kenny Smith (Game 1, 1995 Finals): 42 min, 23 pts, 8-13 FGM-A, 7-11 3PM-A, 0-0 FTM-A, 3 reb, 9 ast
Kenny Smith (Game 2, 1995 Finals): 19 min, 0 pts, 0-2 FGM-A, 0-1 3PM-A, 0-0 FTM-A, 0 reb, 1 ast

Scottie Pippen (Game 3, 1997 Finals): 40 min, 27 pts, 7-13 FGM-A, 7-11 3PM-A, 6-9 FTM-A, 4 reb, 4 ast
Scottie Pippen (Game 4, 1997 Finals): 47 min, 16 pts, 7-16 FGM-A, 1-4 3PM-A, 1-2 FTM-A, 12 reb, 4 ast

(Note: Ray Allen's previous seven three pointer game was in the series clincher in 2008 so there was no game following it)

Interestingly, all three players cooled off significantly from three point range. That may have been the case of tighter defense, although not Allen's as he had sufficient room to shoot last night and just missed. In fact, Pippen was the only one to hit a single three in the game following his record setting night as well as the only one to put up a respectable stat line overall.

Of course, it's Scottie Pippen, one of the greatest ever to play the game so that's to be expected. Honestly I don't really know if there's anything to this data, maybe they have too much belief in the hot hand and are too consumed with looking for three point shots? Who knows. But after the horrific game Ray Allen played tonight, I wanted to see how the other guys followed up their rain-making nights. More pressing is how he'll follow up this stink bomb in a pivotal Game 4.

Stats courtesty of Basketball-Reference.com