HH Tournament: (2) John Havlicek vs (7) Ray Allen

John Havlicek and Ray Allen is the next matchup of the Hardwood Houdini Tournament

Paul Pierce was able to take down Tom Heinsohn in yesterday’s matchup to advance to the Elite Eight. John Havlicek and Ray Allen is the final matchup of the second round, the winner advancing to take on Paul Pierce. Allen will try to stay alive and make sure all players in the Big Three make the Elite Eight.

Don’t forget that this is based solely off their playing careers with the Boston Celtics. Any coaching or front office experience shouldn’t be taken into account, neither should their collegiate careers or any other NBA teams they may have played for.

John Havlicek – 1984 Hall of Fame Inductee

20.8 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 4.8 APG, 1.2 SPG

16 Seasons with Boston, 8x Champion, 13x All-Star, #17 Retired by Celtics

When looking at John Havlicek’s career and skill set, it’s hard to pinpoint one area that stands out over the others. He was one of the most complete players in NBA history and impacted the game in every facet. Even with that being so, Havlicek’s role as the team’s main scorer was key to winning eight titles in 16 seasons.

He played alongside arguably the great center in all-time in Bill Russell. He also had one of the greatest passers of all-time feeding him the ball in Bob Cousy. Despite playing with two of the best players of their era, neither were exceptional scorers. Russell was mainly a defensive anchor and one of the best rebounders in NBA history. Cousy could pass as well as anyone, but point guards weren’t viewed as explosive scorers.

That put an increased responsibility on John Havlicek. He was a solid scorer over his first four seasons but he started to reach the prime of his career in his fifth season. Havlicek scored 21.4 points per game during his fifth season in 1966-67. It was the first of eight consecutive seasons in which he scored at least 20 points per game.

In fact, in 1970-71 he scored a career-best 28.9 points per contest and followed it up scoring 27.5 points the following the season. Plus, in an era where wing players usually didn’t sport great shooting percentages, Havlicek shot 43.9 percent from the field over his 16 year career and at least 45 percent in nine seasons.

In the postseason, Havlicek somehow took his game to the next level. He averaged at least 20 points per game eight times and had a stretch of averaging at least 25 points in four of five seasons. He had his two best scoring postseasons after the age of 30, as well.

In franchise history, Havlicek is the leader in points, field-goals, two-pointers made and fourth in points per game.

It’s hard to pick one thing that Havlicek did best, although when you lead the historic Celtics franchise in a certain area then it’s usually a good choice. Out of all the great scorers the Celtics have had over the years, Havlicek still reigns as the top scorer in franchise history, with Paul Pierce more than 2,000 points behind.

Ray Allen – 3x All-Star

16.7 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 40.9 3P%

5 Seasons with Boston, 1x Champion, 3x All-Star

When discussing Ray Allen, is there really anything else in his game that compares to his three-point shooting? One of the best pure shooters in NBA history finished his career with the most threes made in NBA history. He only spent five seasons with Boston but he still made 798 of his career 2,973 threes with the Celtics.

Allen shot an incredible 40 percent from deep in his career, and an even better 40.9 percent when with the Celtics. There was only one season that he shot under 39 percent from three with the Celtics. Just like the rest of his career, Allen was never afraid of taking threes. He made plenty of clutch threes throughout his career and the fewest threes per game he attempted with the Celtics was 4.7.

The incredible thing about Allen’s game was that he never seemed to fade as his career went on. His final two seasons were his best three-point shooting seasons when he shot 44.4 and 45.3 percent. Allen didn’t need to be an elite scorer with Boston, but there was no one better to space the floor and knock down a much-needed three than Allen.

Surprisingly, Allen struggled at times in the postseason with Boston. He did lead the postseason in 2010-11 when he shot an incredible 57.1 percent from deep over nine games. Other than that, though, he never topped 40 percent. Allen finished his postseason career with the Celtics only shooting 38.7 percent from deep.

In Celtics history, Allen still ranks third in three-point percentage and threes made. He hit 798 threes during his time with Boston, however there’s no doubt that he would have threatened Paul Pierce’s throne if he spent more of his career, specifically the prime of his career, in Boston.

Three-point shooting and Ray Allen are synonymous. He’s arguably the greatest shooter of all-time. His best shooting days weren’t with the Celtics, however there have been few players more efficient from behind the arc in their mid-30s.

Don’t forget to vote on Twitter @HoudiniCeltics! The poll is up for 20 hours. Comments on here don’t count as votes, only the poll on Twitter will be looked at to determine who goes on to the Elite Eight.

Next: Avery Bradley: Is Defensive Player of the Year Realistic?

Also, look at tomorrow’s match-up to see the results from today’s showdown.