Ray Allen is getting awfully hard to watch.

For most of the last five years, watching Ray Allen has been a treat for Celtic Nation.

I never felt any inclination to see Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ.  Jesus suffered; I get it.  Over the course of 13 years in Catholic school, I was invited to contemplate that fact plenty.  Seeing Jesus's suffering unfold in graphic detail on the big screen held no appeal.  I couldn't imagine it would lead to any new spiritual epiphanies and, more to the point, it just sounded like a miserable movie-going experience.  After all, who wants to watch a good guy suffer?

Eight years later, watching The Passion of Jesus Shuttlesworth, the answer is clearer than ever: no one.  Even die-hard Heat fans (assuming they exist) couldn't have relished watching Ray Allen struggle like he did last night.  But for Celtic fans who've soaked in highlight after highlight after highlight after highlight from Sugar Ray over these last five years, it was especially brutal.

Search "Ray Allen + sad" on Twitter and let the endless lamentations wash over you.  Has the Ray Allen of these 2012 playoffs become one of the hardest-to-watch Celtics in recent history?

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In a word: "yes."  Watching Ray misfire open 3's, get burned relentlessly on D, and (worst of all) shoot free throws with Shaq-esque accuracy of late might be just as painful for Celtic Nation as it would be to run around with those bone spurs in our ankles ourselves.  But before you send out another anguished tweet, let's take a look at the three other recent Celtics who would round out my Hardest-to-Watch Mount Rushmore for some much-needed perspective.

In chronological order:

Antoine Walker, 1999:  Try to erase the current narrative surrounding Antoine Walker from your mind for a minute and transport yourself back to the summer of 1998.  Back then, 'Toine was pretty cool -- one of my true childhood sports heroes.  In his sophomore season, he was the star of Rick Pitino's then-budding reclamation project.  Averaged 22 and 10.  Became the first Celtic all-star since Larry Legend and Reggie Lewis in '92.  He was Employee no. 8.  He was the NBA Live cover boy.  And by the time the third lockout in NBA history finally ended and an abbreviated, 50-game season kicked off in February, he was visibly overweight and starting to reveal the shortcomings that would gradually derail his Hall-of-Fame potential.  That '99 season was tough to watch for lots of reasons, but Employee no. 8 was no. 1.

Vin Baker, 2002-2003:  Speaking of lost potential... alcoholism is a helluva disease, isn't it?  Vinny came to Boston in the summer of 2002, and a season-and-a-half-long soap opera ensued.  Year one was rough, but somewhat predictably so.  We all knew Vinny's weight had ballooned and play had declined during his years in Seattle, and expectations that the Old Saybrook, Conn.-native could put up big numbers in the big man-depleted Eastern Conference were always, in retrospect, wishful thinking.  When a season-ending suspension from then-coach Jim O'Brien gave way to a stint in rehab, a candid Boston Globe interview, and eye-popping photos of a newly-fit Baker at Media Day in 2003, however, it seemed that year two was destined to be different.  But after teasing us with some early success, Vinny eventually fell off the wagon and had his contract terminated, turning the feel-good story of the season decidedly sour.

Mark Blount, 2004-2006:  At the end of the 2003-04 season, ESPN's resident Celtic booster Bill Simmons described Mark D. Blount as a "poor man's Robert Parish."  That's right: the man who has since penned a 700+ page tome wrestling with the historical implications and import of all things NBA once likened Mark D. Blount to no. 00.  Without irony.  The thing is, Bill wasn't totally off-base.  In March and April of that season, Mark averaged 14 and 11 -- and in doing so, made a fool of us all.  One year and one $41 million contract later, that kind of production was gone, never to be seen again.  By the time he was dealt to Minnesota in early 2006, fans had endured so much passionless play from the big man that many still remember him as the Worst Celtic Ever.  Post-payday Mark Blount was far from a poor man's Chief, but you could fairly compare him to another Celtic legend: he was the absolute anti-KG.

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In a sense, you could call Ray Allen the anti-KG right now, too.  While the 2004 MVP continues to turn back the clock to post one double-double after another in these playoffs, Father Time has never loomed so large over the shoulder of the NBA's all-time leading 3-point scorer.  But you'd never question Ray Allen's heart like you did Mark Blount's.

The 2012 Celtics' heart ailments started and ended with Jeff Green and Chris Wilcox.  Passion to approach the game the right way may have eluded Messrs. Walker, Baker and Blount, but there's no shortage of passion in Ray Allen, or in his teammates.  No, the guys wearing the green these days really are all grit and balls (© Kevin Garnett).  And, in dwelling on the cringe-worthy aspect of Ray's one-legged performances of late, we're missing out on that bigger picture.  He's playing on one leg (despite his protestations).

Jesus Shuttlesworth may not be all that fun to watch right now, but he's definitely fun to root for.  I honestly don't know if all those tee-shirts were printed in vain.  I'm not sure whether we have what it takes to "Beat the Heat."  But we all know that this may be Ray Allen's last year in town, so let's appreciate the man while we still have him on our side -- creaky ankles and all.

Keep your head up, Ray.