Tony Allen, Let's Be Real

[Kane3387]

Tony Allen had something going for him that a lot of us are failing to mention.

He was in a contract year.

I have seen too many players in all sports be amazing their contract year and then revert back to the  player they once were afterwards. The list is so long there is no point in mentioning names. LOL ok Mark Blount anyone?

TA was great in the post season but lets not assume he will have not regressed back to the old Tony once he got his new deal. I will be very curious to see what he does next season:
   Will he be the defensive stopper or the guy who tries to play outside his abilities?

I just don't trust Tony Allen yet and therefore am not "it's the end of the world" that he left.

Getting Quise back was nice. He handles the ball much better than TA, plays defense well, and has a better mid range game. He has better length but not strength. The difference between the two is marginal and you only have room in your rotation for one guy like that at a time. Nice signing and now we can use the Sheed contract on a best available player instead of a need player.

Back to Daniels, he has injury problems but so has Tony Allen. He has had confidence issues but so has Tony Allen. Yet Daniels has something Tony Allen doesn't have at this time, a chip on his shoulder. Here's to hoping Daniels redeems himself this season much like Tony Allen did last year.

[cdif911]

I see Tony as more a product of a system than a good player

that said, on a bad team I think he can score 20+ ppg, ala Eric Williams on the Nuggets...but he was never a smart player with the ball - he was a lock down 1 on 1 defender, but still had lapses... he seemed to be a character guy and that could prove to being missed...

[Kane3387]

I'm just saying you gets guy's best effort and focus during a contract year. Maybe the fact he was playing for his next deal played a small part in there being fewer lapses this past season. You know his agent was in his ear reminding him, "Hey Tony, lets go, step it up, your playing for your next contract and your future." That's just the way it goes. Again you make a long list of guys who played amazing in their contract year and then reverted back to underwhelming play afterwards.

[cdif911]

by the same token Nate and Marquis were in contract years and didn't do a heckuva lot...Eddie too - he's not even signed yet

[Kane3387]

Nate played exceptional in the playoffs and as for Marquise it is hard to play well when you are on the bench... Eddie played well in NY, as well as you could expect at his age and with his skill. I see more character out of Eddie House then Tony. What I mean is more professionalism and attention to detail. Let's be honest Tony Allen would come in and just not know what he was doing sometimes. You couldn't say that about Eddie. If Eddie had TA's physical tools then he would definitely be on a team right now, but he doesn't and is on the wrong side of thirty as well.

Tony Allen in my opinion has heart but I question the mental focus he brings to each and every game... Guys have a lot more motivation to be focused for 82 games in a contract year then they do after signing a three year ten million dollar deal that is guaranteed.

I am just skeptical that Ta will bring it next year the way he did in these past playoffs.

[greenhead85]

Just very happy that after going through a crime-related nightout before his first season with us and some more threats in Chicago area, Danny and the fans got our money's worth. He contributed in a lot of ways especially in our last championship. Still over the years, TA forgot to hone his skills and added a dimension in his game like a consistent medium-range jumper or a threepoint set-shot. With a lack of either one, I was just as frustrated as any Celtics fan watching him pass on open medium range jumpers because he didn't have one. I was really wishing he could have been our Dumars version. In the end, I (and maybe to a lot of our fans)came to a point it's ok to let him go. Not indispensable player after all.

[mgent]

Or, Tony for some reason just plays better when he's not injured.

[xmuscularghandix]

When Tony plays he gives you production. When he’s only in there for a little you see all his negatives through a magnifying glass.

The only difference from this year is that he’s learned to think the game a little more. TA is less wild with his decision making, he makes the veteran decisions when it comes to the little things. “just lay it in, no need to windmill dunk” “contest late, don’t let your man get you off the ground” “make the easy pass”

I think we’re going to miss TA.

[xmuscularghandix]

Or, Tony for some reason just plays better when he's not injured.

TP

[GreenEnvy]

Everyone is seriously overrating him now that he is gone. If we overpaid for him, the same people would complain that he isn't worth it.

The truth is, he is good at one thing and one thing only. When we drafted him, he had promise. He crashed the offensive boards with reckless abandon. He was an above the rim player with great athleticism and defense. Then the knee injury occurred.

After that, he was never the same player mentally or physically. It took nearly two years for him to trust his knee, and since then he could barely dunk. He can't fly over opposing bigs for put-back slams anymore. He can't drive with the consistency he had back in '06-07. If possible, his jumpshot got worse and significantly uglier.

He is still an excellent defender, and this is where some C's fans get hung up. Yes he could defend well, but he was still prone to really poor decisions on both ends. He could no create anything on offense. At all.

Would you want a sub who holds an opponent to 4 points but generates none of his own? Or a guy who holds his man to 8 points, but creates 8 of his own?

[BballTim]

Would you want a sub who holds an opponent to 4 points but generates none of his own? Or a guy who holds his man to 8 points, but creates 8 of his own?

  Are those the only choices? What if we end up with a player that holds his opponent to 12 points and creates 6 of his own?

  By the way, Tony's scoring average (on a per minute basis) is pretty much average for the nba.

[GreenEnvy]

Would you want a sub who holds an opponent to 4 points but generates none of his own? Or a guy who holds his man to 8 points, but creates 8 of his own?

  Are those the only choices? What if we end up with a player that holds his opponent to 12 points and creates 6 of his own?

  By the way, Tony's scoring average (on a per minute basis) is pretty much average for the nba.

I was just throwing arbitrary numbers out there just to prove that defense isn't everything, especially when that is all you are good at.

TA's scoring average may be mediocre, but the vast majority of his buckets are set up by others. For every game he has a scoring burst (which means double digits, a few drives of his own), there are a half dozen games of nothing but kicking the ball out of bounds or some horrible pass.

Basically, he is below average on offense, very good on defense. Replacing him with a good offensive and defensive player is a gain for the Celtics.

[footey]

I think we will get more production from Marquis this year, now that Tony is gone. He will have more minutes.  It will be interesting to see how he blends in with Nate at the same time.

Now that we have Marquis re-upped, we should use Sheed's contract to get a solid 3 point specialist. Kapona maybe. Or, we try to convince Sheed to return one more time.

[LooseCannon]

Basically, he is below average on offense, very good on defense. Replacing him with a good offensive and defensive player is a gain for the Celtics.

There is some reason to believe that Tony Allen is significantly better on defense than other low-offense defensive specialists. Basketball Prospectus seems to think so.  Their stats say TA is clearly a more useful player than Wesley Matthews or Rasual Butler.

I really don't see the Celtics acquiring another wing who is good at both offense and defense unless he is either injury-prone, a headcase, or old and declining.  I would add signed to a bad contract, but I suspect Ainge would actually prefer to just let Sheed retire and get nothing rather than take on a horrible contract.

[Birdbrain]

As Rondo said " Tony did what was best for him ".  He probably thinks he was worth more and should be getting more minutes than Danny and Doc both thought he deserved.  There were times he was and and there were times he wasn't.  Daniels while not his equal defensively is a much better offensive player... if he stays healthy.  By the way is that hand not going to have a wrap this season?  It's been an issue for over 2 years.  I've never seen a hand injury (thumb?) last that long.  I hope it's not something that plagues all season again.  It literally started to get my nerves seeing it.

Nate
Bradley
Daniels
Davis
Vet min big guy ??
Scals vet min
Gody (I hope)

Get Perk back and another player at deadline and you have a nice squad to go along with the 5 starters.  Old and injury prone but, nice. Enough talent to win the East albeit a long season (injuries) with some very tough teams to get through.