2010 NBA Finals: Boston Celtics' Ray Allen Will Bounce Back

Ray Allen has proven some of the oldest adages about sharp shooters during the last two NBA Finals games.

During Game 2, Allen caught fire and couldn't miss.

Last night, he was colder than an iceberg in the Arctic Ocean. Some nights you can't miss, and then other nights you just can't find your rhythm.

Allen has the chance to prove another thing about shooters during Game 4: They can bounce back in a matter of moments.

Allen's continued confidence in himself despite the horrid shooting night shows he will bounce back. Even as he clanked shot after shot on Tuesday night, he wasn't scared to fire up another shot in hopes of contributing to a Celtic comeback victory.

Even after clanking his first 12 field goals, he still believed he could bring the game closer by shooting No. 13.

But, for the thirteenth time, the rims weren't kind to Allen. The shot bounced off the rim with the Celtics down by four, and they couldn't fight their way back as the Lakers sealed the win.

With the final miss, Allen put himself in some unwanted company. Only Dennis Johnson and Chuck Reisner had more misses without sinking at least one field goal when they went 0-for-14.

It surely will be remembered as arguably the biggest shooting swing in Finals history after Allen was absolutely incredible on Sunday. The performances show the opposite extremes of what can happen to shooters on any given night and just how fragile their psyche can be.

But, Allen still flinging 13 shots shows he has that confidence in himself to keep shooting despite his hardships.

Despite how bad Game 3 was, Allen won't let it get him down once the ball goes up on Thursday. It's just the nature of a 3-point shooter. When bad games happen, they will bounce back.

Here's another thing Allen can take solace in: The Lakers will most likely let their guard down toward him.

After his record-setting performance on Sunday, there was no doubt that the Lakers were going to throw their best at Allen in response to his lights-out play the game before. Ron Artest and other Laker defenders were all over Allen, forcing him out of rhythm.

Because of all the attention dedicated to him, Allen pressed and looked uncomfortable the entire game. Give credit to the Laker defense for forcing Allen to play flat, but they can't let Allen's 0-fer allow them to forget how dangerous he can be.

In my opinion, they will slack on Allen in Game 4. Look at the other games in the series: When Allen didn't perform well in Game 1, the Lakers gave less attention to him during the next game, allowing him to go off the next game.

After Kevin Garnett lagged during Game 2 of the series when he only scored six points, he found many more opportunities Tuesday en route to 24 points.

With all this said, Allen has extra motivation to come out shooting in Game 4.

The Lakers have swung the momentum back in their favor with their win Tuesday night. The Celtics' stars, from Rondo to Garnett, will be chomping at the bit to get the tempo back in their hands.

As Allen and the others practiced on Wednesday, there's no question the loss hung on their minds as they prepared for Thursday night. With every 3-pointer Allen shot during practice, the loss and his performance had to hang on his mind.

When Thursday finally comes around, expect Allen to bounce back and have a huge impact as the Celtics try to come back.

He won't be scared to let it fire. It's just the nature of a shooter.