When the Boston Celtics inked Terry to a three-year deal over the summer, the hope was that he could fill the three-point shooting and general offensive void left by Allen.
Some fail to remember that even after Terry agreed to come to Beantown, the Celtics still attempted to retain Allen, who ultimately spurned them in favor of the Miami Heat.
Some would consider this Boston's aggressive attempt to stockpile as many offensive weapons as possible, and to an extent, it was. Mostly, though, the Celtics knew what they had in Allen—the greatest three-point shooter in the history of the NBA.
Allen wasn't just someone who scored 14.2 points per game and shot 45.3 percent from beyond the arc for the Celtics in 2011-12, he was someone who they could depend on to hit the big shot, to succeed in whatever position he was put in.
During his last season in Boston, Allen averaged 22.4 points and posted an effective field-goal percentage of 60.7 in the "clutch." He also snagged himself 4.7 win shares in just 46 games of action.
By comparison, Terry proved equally vital in his role with the Dallas Mavericks. He averaged 34.8 points and posted an effective field-goal percentage of 60.3 in the clutch for Dallas.
Such stats would suggest that he easily outperformed Allen with the game on the line, that he meant more to the Mavericks than Allen did to the Celtics. That suggestion, though, is utterly false.
That said, his impact on the "big picture" just wasn't as, well, big. And it has been even smaller since moving to Boston.
Not only is Terry averaging 12.7 points per 36 minutes (second-lowest mark of his career), but he's struggling to hit big shots down the stretch. Currently, he's averaging just 11.6 points and posting an effective field-goal percentage of 31.6 per 48 minutes in the clutch, a far cry from the gaudy totals he put up last year.
Allen has had no such troubles. He's scoring 16 points per 36 minutes and shooting 44.3 percent from beyond the arc. He's also averaging 24.5 points per 48 minutes of clutch action while posting an effective field-goal percentage of 58.7.
And that's what Boston misses—that player outside of Paul Pierce who can deliver when it's needed most, however it's needed.
Where did that Jason Terry go? And, more importantly, can the woeful Celtics offense find him before the first -- and most important -- season of his three-year, $15 million contract comes to a close?
"It takes time," said Knicks point guard Jason Kidd, Terry's backcourt mate for four-plus seasons in Dallas. "He's in a new system, and a lot of things aren't run for him like they were in Dallas, so he's just making that adjustment. He's a professional, he's good at what he does, and so it's just a matter of time before he starts making every shot."
Bradley's return and Courtney Lee's struggles were supposed to finally carve out a familiar role for Terry, but it's been just the opposite since his move to the bench. It's hard to find a worse three-game stretch over Terry's career than his past three outings (10 points, 4-14 FG), so Celtics coach Doc Rivers has turned to Lee's defense and Leandro Barbosa's explosive offense to fill the void left by Terry's anemic performance.
Per hoopdata.com, 43.9 percent of Terry's field-goal attempts came from beyond the arc with the Mavericks last season. Of all his converted shot attempts, less than 50 percent were assisted by a teammate.
Terry is attempting nearly five shots fewer per game with the Celtics and more than 50 percent of them are coming from behind the rainbow. And in Boston, 79.1 percent of his made field goals are assisted by a teammate.
Boston's floor general assists on more than 50 percent of his team's field goals. Kidd had a hand in just 28.4 percent of his team's field goals in Dallas last season.
Remember, this was one of Allen's biggest qualms about Boston. He was primarily being used as a spot-up shooter himself. Of all baskets he made last season, 77.9 percent of them came off assists. He was not afforded the luxury of creating for himself either, yet he still succeeded.
A comfort zone that has nothing to do with when or where he's used, but how he's used. One he'll never be allowed to re-enter next to a point guard who can't play off the ball.
*All stats used in this article were compiled from Basketball-Reference, Synergy Sports and 82games.com unless otherwise noted.
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