"Thing is he has to take care of the ball. If he can’t take of the ball, he can’t play"
This is Doc's quote. Please point to the area where Doc said he was being used as a point guard.
That's part of the quote. Here's the rest of it:
“Right now, Eddie’s going to have to handle the ball more, and that hurts his game,” Rivers said. “If he’s handling the ball and setting things up, then he’s not a shooter.”
Put those two together and it's plain: Doc needs TA to act as the defacto point guard, so as to lessen Eddie's ball handling responsibilities and free up his shooting.
Of course, Doc *could* say the same thing about TA because he's much more successful when he doesn't have to set up the offense either.
As a matter of fact, Tony has brought up up the ball and initiated the offense just a handful of times this year, no more or less than any average shooting guard does on a regular basis. When Tony has been in Ray, Pierce or Eddie has been the point guard. This is also true for almost all of last year as "the Tony at PG" experiment pretty much ended in January of 2008 because he was so inept at it.
The point, Nick, is rather simple. It's not a question of 'bringing the ball up the court' on occasion; it's a matter of having the brunt of the ballhandling and shot creation duties thrust upon TA due to House's shortcomings as a playmaker, dribbler, and penetrator.
Doc decries TA's ball handling and notes how much better Eddie would be if somebody could set him up--that's my entire argument *for* TA as well. He could be so much better if he was being set up, instead of being forced to be defacto point guard.
As for you continued cries of pity for poor Tony who hasn't been given a chance because he's been hurt, please explain to me why players across the league like Amare Stoudemire, Grant Hill, Greg Oden, Mike Dunleavy, Luol Deng, Gilbert Arenas, Trevor Ariza and others can all can back from injuries and be as good if not better than beforehand and yet Allen we have to give some special consideration to because when he gets injured he never returns to play as well as before he got injured.
There have been no cries, nor any excuses made--that's the strawman created to suit your preconceived argument. TA *has* been hurt and his inability to stay healthy *is* a huge problem. *But*, when healthy and given consistent minutes, he *has* played well (first month of the 2008-2009 season, for example). He's just been too injured for most people to notice.
What I *would* decry is how TA's injury problems have been led to the irrational hate that you and others have engaged in. Plenty of players are injury-prone, but hardly any of them are vilified for it. That's exactly what's happened to TA.
Please, Salmon. The "woe is me" defense for Tony's inability to produce is beyond ridiculous. Professional athletes come back from injuries all the time. Well, at least good ones do.
So, if you're good, you'll *always* heal and come back better than ever, no matter what? That statement is preposterous. The history of sports is littered by many examples of talented players, some good, and some great, who have suffered injury-filled and therefore limited careers. Anyone remember Leon Powe?
As nick said, I don't see any ringing endorsement, or even excuse for Tony's play, in Doc's statement.
No, it's not a ringing endorsement. It's an indictment of Doc's continued misuse of Tony Allen, one that justifies House's limited game and substitutes around it in order to maximize it, while AT THE SAME TIME using the same twisted logic to demand Tony Allen play a role he's ill-suited for...
The exact things Doc said about Eddie House--that he's much more effective off-the-ball and less effective when he's forced to distribute--could have been said about TA. The same threat--that TA better handle the ball better as the defacto point guard so as to help get Eddie off--could have been made against House as well as a means towards getting TA going. Both players NEED to play off-the-ball to play effective, efficient offense. Doc (finally) came around to this in regard to Eddie House. But a similar epiphany vis a vis Tony Allen has yet to materialize...
(The fact that you say the "the Roy Hobbs of the world" are "bending reality", and then attack Eddie House for not being able to dribble or shoot (huh? 
) is irony at it's best.)
Well, either you 'bend' reality or you can't read well. What I *said*, actually, was that Eddie can't dribble *and* shoot well, meaning that he can't do both at the same time, which is why he struggles with his shot when he's forced to distribute, something Doc agrees with as mentioned in the above quote where he says that “If he’s handling the ball and setting things up, then he’s not a shooter."
Topic: Marquis out Tuesday, Tony in? (Read 24900 times)