My Crystal Ball: Ray Allen Carries Celtics To Game 7 Victory Over Orlando

Ray Allen broke through his series-long drought last night in Game 7 to lead the Celtics to a 103-97 victory over Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic.

The prize? A meeting with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Allen was simply brilliant in his effort. He scored a game-high 33 points on 11 of 19 from the field, including a stunning 6 of 11 from long distance.

Said Doc Rivers after the huge win:

"We don't get down on Ray as a team. We know his history too well for that. When the big shot has to be taken on this team, it's going to be in the hands of Ray or Paul. We know that. Hell, the other team knows it, too. It doesn't matter to us one bit. Great players play great in games like this. Tonight, Ray was great."

Allen was a hot topic after struggling mightily in Games Five and Six. The questions abounded as to whether this was the downfall of one of the greatest shooters in NBA history.

Is he too old?

Are his ankles hurting?

Why is J.J. Reddick shutting him down so easily?

How quickly people forget about his brilliance in Round One vs. the Bulls. His game-winning three-pointer over Joakim Noah in Game Two. His 51-point explosion in Game Six, including huge shot after huge shot.

Admit it guys—you read that and didn't even think twice about believing it.

Everything written above can easily happen tomorrow night in Game Seven. No one would be surprised if that stat line or a stat line close to it happened.

Ray Allen is a Hall of Famer.

Is he going through a struggle right now? Obviously. Did he go through something strangely similar last year in the first round vs. Atlanta and in the second round vs. Cleveland? Yes.

How did that end?

It ended with big efforts from him vs. Detroit in the Eastern Conference Finals and an MVP-like performance vs. the Lakers en route to a championship.

If Ray himself still believes that the next shot is going to go in, regardless of how many in a row he has missed, then why shouldn't we?

We aren't the ones struggling. He is.

We aren't the ones who have to take the big shots. We aren't the ones who have to deal with the criticism and questions about why he's struggling so much.

If he can believe, then why can't we?

I don't know about the rest of Celtic Nation, but I, for one, still believe in Sugar Ray. I've seen it too many times before, his coming through in the clutch with a dagger in the heart of opposing teams.

Why should Game Seven be any different?

Like the rock band Journey sang, "Don't Stop Believing!"