What the Hell is Wrong with Ray Allen?

This is not a misprint: Ray Allen had zero points in tonight's ugly Game 1 victory over the Cavs. Zip. Not a one.

Quite frankly, he's been painfully awful in the playoffs thus far. He cannot hit a shot. He couldn't shoot a ball into the ocean against Atlanta, and now he comes out 0-of-4 against Cleveland. Sure, four attempts seems like an unusually low number, but Allen is struggling so much with his confidence that he passed up four or five looks he would have normally capitalized upon.

So what's the problem?

Some of it is mechanics. He appears to be getting an unorthodox sideways rotation on his jumper, which flattens out his trajectory and makes the iron unkind. Allen also appears to be tossing up knuckleballs -- shots with absolutely no rotation -- sporadically.

But above all, Ray Allen is just choking. Let's see, no Final Four appearances at UConn; never been to the NBA Finals; failed as a No. 1 option in both Seattle and Milwaukee. I'm not saying his lack of championships are all his doing, just that there's reason to believe that his nerves have gotten to him in the past, and that those same nerves are killing his flow once again.

Man up, Ray Ray. Find a way to make some shots. If you're "the best pure shooter in the NBA" -- a fashionable distinction linked to Allen by NBA analysts and fans across the country -- then you shouldn't be in this long of a slump; especially not when your teammates need you more than ever.

Head coach Doc Rivers needs to run some sets that will open up Allen for chip-shots and lay-ups, so he can establish a rhythm and then carry it out to the perimeter. As the postseason rages on, It'll be interesting to see if the pressure continues to get to Ray Ray.