A Healthy Tony Allen Is Making A Difference

From what I have seen of Tony Allen, he is making a difference. It is halftime of the Orlando game (Christmas day) and I like what I am seeing. There is no doubt Tony makes this Celtic team much better defensively, and he is taking it to the hole with gusto, as usual. The last few games his ball management has been better than I can remember.

A healthy Tony Allen will indeed improve the Celtic chances to bring home another championship. Add Big Baby to the mix, and my confidence has taken an upturn. Pray that TA remains healthy throughout the remainder of the season. River's patience with Allen seems is being rewarded.

Go Celtics!!!

SD,

Sixteen points and continued good defense tonight. And only one turnover in the last four games.

Sam

Missed game. Curious how tony and rondo are interacting in the open floor and in general?

They combined on a great fast break play today...a 2-on-1. Rondo went behind his back to Tony for a thunderous slam. Rondo also hit Tony on some other slashes. Of course, how much they'll be playing together if and when the team returns to full strength is problematic

Sam

tony is an athlete. rondo prolly happy to have somebody to run with

Van gundy and Jackson are unbearable

...it appears so....he seems to have turned some kind of corner.....for now

I remain pleasantly surprised....but am unwilling to call it anything more than a few weeks of positive play.

However, if TA really has turned a corner of sorts and can contribute 10 points and 5 rebounds a game while playing lock down D.....the Celtics will be that much harder to deal with.

Watching that Lakers game last night....they dont have nearly enough off their bench to compete with the Celtics. Kobe played every minute last night and they still go destroyed.

If Davis gets back to a 12 point scorer - TA scores 8 - Wallace scores 10 - Daniels scores 10 - House scores 10 - and Rondo, Perk and the Big 3 keep it ups...forget it...this team will be unstoppable in a 7 game series.

Agreed healthy our bench makes the difference vs LA,we've also got the best collection of BIGS,KG,Perk,Sheed,SW,Baby,plenty of length with skills and mobility and we got bangers.Bynum was scared to go hard at Shaq,Perk can make him disappear,Bynum and Gasol don't have the mobility as any of our BIGS paired in any combo.

Pierce,Ray Allen,TA and Quis are a very formidible wing tandem.Artest looks shot to me.

If Kobe thought he had a hard time scoring yesterday,wait till he plays us,our BIGS don't just shutdown the paint,they'll also chase you on the perimeter.

Did anyone note the play on which some Lakers player (could have been Kobe, but I'm not sure) was zipping down the lane and piled into Shaq, who was just standing there. Shaq continued to stand there as the player bounced backwards. If Shaq had had the presence of mind to fall down, he would have drawn an easy offensive foul. But it was a lot funnier the way it stood, as everyone on the court seemed sort of paralyzed.

It reminded me of the movie "Born Free," when they're trying to train a domesticated lion to fend for herself in the wild. She spies this warthog, and her keepers all think, "This is it." But she just watches as the warthog repeatedly gets a running start and slams into her (the lion's) side. It's comic relief in a sometimes pretty grim movie, just as the episode last night was comic relief in a sometimes pretty grim game.

You can see what I mean at the 3:50 mark of this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDAWzv2wbBw

Sam

Very pleased with the Celtic defensive effort particularly in the first half. Kudos to Tony Allen. Expiring contract or not his play of late makes him a welcome addition to this club! When Rajon stepped it up in the second half the offense started to click. Surprised Davis made it back earlier than expected. 'Sheed was huge im the paint vs Howard after Perk was in early foul trouble! Best Christmas/Birthday present I got!-MD.

sam

did notice that laughed out loud.

TA was playing very well for the Celtics before he blew out the knee. The only concern that I have is whether or not he can stay healthy. he appears to be fully recovered form his latest injury (ankle) and his impact on the court is more than just noticeable.

The Celtics are a defensive team first and with Allen in the game it really puts more pressure on the ball. When Daniels comes back will doc just split minutes between them or will TA and Daniels be part of the rotation with minutes. I have felt for some time that both PP and RA need to play less minutes because neither can play at a high level of intensity especially at the defensive end for 35-36 MPG.

Further the only player on the Celtics that is capable of playing 35+ minutes per game and being productive is Rajon Rondo. I would really like to see PP and Allen limited to 32 MPG and let Daniels and Allen play 16 each. How those minutes are divided up and what combinations will be on the floor together is now a matter of speculation.

Allen is simply a better defender than Daniels but Daniels is just a solid all around contributor. This is a luxury to have just like having Baby and Williams competing for minutes.

Right Now I would rank the rotation 6. Wallace, 7. Tony Allen, 8,9, 10 (House, Daniels, Davis and not necessarily in that order because matchups will determine which one the those players has a more prominent role game in and game out)

The great thing is that the Celtics are 12 men deep if you include Scalabrine and Williams because each of them can step in contribute.

dboss

Daniels is a more confident and consistent player. Him being injured doesnt change that....nor does Tony Allen having one of his annual stretches where he plays well....which is always followed by him disappearing for a few weeks.

To me the bench rotation when everyone is healthy is clearly Raseed first off the bench, followed by Daniels, Davis, House, Williams, TA, Scal.

Right now TA is making more positive impact during this stretch than any stretch Quis had during season so far,TA is a natural 2,in 07 right before he blew out his knee I called him a poor mans Dwayne Wade.If he can stay healthy and keep his game harnessed he should still play in the backcourt with Rondo.The good news is Quis can play the 3 and we need to keep Pierces minutes down before the playoffs too. I'm all for TA at the 2 and Quis at the 3 with Pierce and Ray getting 32 minutes a game and even less in blowouts.

Well it's still all about the team, not about just fitting guys into slots. The second team needs spacing without forcing Sheed out to the perimeter. If there were slashers playing at both the 2 and the 3 (Tony and Daniels), the defense would just pack it in unless Eddie were playing the point—which no one seems to want and from which his perimeter game is not as lethal because he has to create his own shots. It may be that the luxury will come in playing both Daniels and Tony at the 3 while giving Pierce more rest or having him spend more time spelling Ray at the 2. It truly is a potential embarrassment of riches, which usually means it will be a matter of matchups.

Sam

The sight of Rajon and Tony racing down the court warmed the cockles of your heart and the balls of your feet. This is what Rajon was born to do and you can almost see the Celtics of the future as a devastating fast break team. Could this be the beginning of all that?

The players see it, for sure. The Orlando big men seemed tired at the end. Could it be from having to run so much?

Sheed can get down the court. Ray never stops running. The offense has been in a state of flux all season. With Paul out, it's Rajon's team and if he has a running mate like Tony, well, get on board the last train to Skaville.

On a more jaded note, this is the last year of TA's contract.