Ray Allen on Lance Stephenson’s antics: ‘It’s just buffoonery’

Lance Stephenson is a divisive figure. Fans of his talent are quick to defend his often “interesting” decision-making on the court (both with regard to his actual play and otherwise), but in the aftermath of Stephenson deciding to blow in the ear of LeBron James on Wednesday night, things are beginning to boil over. With that, Ethan Skolnick of Bleacher Report brings a report that Miami Heat shooting guard Ray Allen has had about enough of Stephenson’s antics.

"Ray Allen, the Heat’s elder statesman, was the most direct.Does Stephenson get Heat players out of their game?“No, it’s just buffoonery,” Allen said. “As players, we just are professional, we come out and do our jobs. He’s young. He’ll grow up.”Allen said that there are unwritten rules—and certainly, what Stephenson did to James would seem to violate one of them.“But, again, it’s not going to throw us off from what we’re gonna do,” Allen said. “We know what our plays are. He makes himself look bad. We’ve just got to do our job.”"

Referring to Stephenson’s actions as “buffoonery” is about as cut and dry as it gets, especially from an even-handed veteran like Ray Allen. On one hand, Lance’s decisions often lead to meme hilarity, but on the other, it would be easy to see how his peers would become quickly annoyed with the seemingly unwarranted attention that Stephenson garners with non-basketball things.

The Heat and Pacers are headed back to Miami for a crucial Game 6, and it will be intriguing to see if Stephenson has a follow-up act in the cards.