Ray Allen opens up on Doc Rivers' football comparison to Boston Celtics offense

After being the top option on his team for years, things changed for Ray Allen when he got to the Boston Celtics in 2007. The Hall of Famer recently opened up on his coach's unusal analogy to how their offense was meant to function.

Ray Allen recently sat down with JJ Redick on "The Old Man and the Three" podcast to discuss an array of topics. Among the things to come up was his time in Boston. When opening up about the change in mindset he needed, Allen spoke on how Doc Rivers compared the Celtics' offense to an NFL offensive line.

"Doc was like, you gotta cut harder than that. It kinda pissed me off because I had never been pushed in that sense," Allen said. "But he was right, I had to be willing to amke the cut so somebody else can get an opportunity. And if I am not capable of doing that, then our offense doesn’t work."

"Doc used to always say, our offense should work like a football offensive line. You got guys that are pulling, that are blocking, and they are doing everything they can to get the quarterback some time."

Ray Allen needed a new mindset to thrive with the Boston Celtics

Before the Boston Celtics acquired Ray Allen, he was a high-scoring guard for the Milwaukee Bucks and Seattle Supersonics. However, the veteran sharpshooter was going to need a new mindset if he was going to thrive with his new team.

Playing alongside Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, Allen had multiple star-level teammates he needed to share the ball with. Because of this, he had to embrace what Doc Rivers was preaching to him.

If Allen got lazy on plays the ball wasn't coming his way, the offense would take a hit. Defenses needed to pay attention to him to help create space for Pierce and Garnett to also do damage.

Sometimes, stars aren't willing to take less for the sake of winning. That said, Allen embraced a new mindset to achieve success. Because he was able to make sacrifices, he and the Celtics were able to win at the highest level.

In the season before he got to Boston, Allen averaged 26.4 points. During his time with the Celtics, he'd never average more than 18 PPG. Allen did not mind this due to the success the team was having.

It did not take long for Allen, Pierce, and Garnett to click. The 2008 season was their first together, and they went on to win a championship. This would end up being the only title the trio would secure in their time together.

After the 2012 season, Ray Allen departed for the Miami Heat, where he'd win another championship playing alongside LeBron James.