When Winning's On Line, Celtics' Allen Excels

November 24, 2008 11:00 a.m. EST

Boston, MA (AHN) -

Ray Allen's scoring may have dipped in recent seasons, especially when he was merged as the 'Big Three' in Boston, but his consistency from the charity stripe never wavered.

This season, things have only improved for the sweet-shooting veteran.

Allen is calmly sinking four free throws a night for almost a 92-percent clip, which ranks ninth in the league entering Sunday's contest at Toronto.

He trails the early leaders-Toronto's Jose Calderon, Cleveland's Mo Williams and Orlando's Jameer Nelson-by a mile.

But for an NBA veteran of 13 years, Allen has continuously thought of ways to improve his game, despite the possibility of becoming overconfident after winning last season's championship with the Celtics.

The former UConn star claims his early routine with making charities has helped him hone his skill.

It started when Huskies coach Jim Calhoun stressed the free throw's importance to him, prompting Allen to consistently train for hours in order to make the trip to the line a perfect outing as much as possible.

It's become a routine for him since then, and it's paid dividends to his career, where he never shot below 80 percent.

In the last eight seasons, including this campaign, his lowest clip was only 88 percent while the highest was 92 percent, which is also his career high.

His current figure of 91.9 percent is a six-year best for the shooting guard and is a marked improvement from last season's 90.7 clip, when the Celtics took the title in five games against the Los Angeles Lakers.

For his career, Allen is an 89 percent shooter from the line, doing it in almost 900 games in the NBA.

Undoubtedly, the back-to-back seeking Celtics have him as a valuable weapon not only from beyond the arc but even more from the foul line.

Time and again, Ray Allen has proven himself from there, as well as the rest of the court.