I'd like to give a Tommy point to Bball Tim: 18-3 when Tony Allen plays 20+ minutes. Nice research, way to back up your comments. I wasn't awre of that. Also two Tommy points for Kungpowe Chicken: one for your name, one for the fighting spirit.
Look, Tony's a lightining Rod player, you love him or hate him.
But, the rational reasons for playing him in this sereis have actually been well documented by TA supporters. They are, in no specific order:
1. We are getting absolutely mauled offensively by Chicago's backcourt combo of Rose, Heinrich and Gordon and at the three by Salmons. No one else on that team is even scaring 20 points on most nights.
2. Main reason is speed, same thing that hurt us last year against the more athletic teams, Atalnata being one of them. Pierce is too slow for Salmons, Ray too slow for Gordon and Rondo could use a break now and then against Rose. TA has the most speed and length of our guys coming off the bench at the wing. Therefore he needs to be in the conversation and in the game.
It's not an unsult to Paul or Ray or Rondo or a personal attack against any TA detractors either. It's just an incredibaly clear fact. Not playing TA more in this series when we are gettting destroyed by small, fast wing players would be like putting Pierce on Dwight Howard when you have Big baby on the bench...it doesn't compute.
3. When you are getting mauled offesnively, sometimes it might be a good idea to make an adjustment against the guys mauling you. That adjustment to me would be throwing everything I had, including the kitchen sink at the problem. Tony Allen is part of everything I have to work with. He's getting minutes rotating on Rose, Gordon and Salmons.
4. The additional bonus is that if you rotate Tony in earlier in the game, you get some desperately needed rest for Ray and Paul so they can be more fresh down the stretch. It's a win/win playing TA more minutes, especially with as depleted as this team is right now and because we are playing a team with multiple fast wing players.
Now, while I am obviously a TA supporter for the role he can play, I defiantely understand his shortcoming and why some might be very uncomfortable with him down the stretch. I am too sometimes...waiting for the inevitable mistake to come. But it would have been very unfair to blame the loss on Tony had we lost yesterday because of the three point foul. All had plenty of head scratching mistakes that played.
However, perhaps to avoid that, play him earlier in spots he can help on these wings and get Pierce and Ray more rest early. It might be a situation where we play stronger in the second because we're more rested, fresher.
I don't think we can see if Tony plays 20+ minutes or doesn't we'll win or lose on that fact. That's not really fair. But I'd say you definately play him 20+ minutes and let him get sticky with Rose, Salmons and Gordon and do it form the start, late in the 1st or early in the second.
We need to use what we have.
