I basically agree with what you say. I think Tony is a better player since recovering from his injury. I actually think the injury took away some of his athleticism, at least temporarily, and this has forced him to be a smarter player. I think he see’s the floor better, he’s made some outstanding passes and I think he has a better overall understanding of the game. But, I’ve been disappointed by his lack of consistency. Doc has said part of the problem is that TA needs to slow down. His physical speed is ahead of his mental speed sometimes. I don’t think the problem is “mental” as far as understanding goes and making the right plays. I think it’s from lack of focus. Hopefully this will come around. You mention TA as a slasher. As an aside I would say Ray Allen is as effective in going to the basket as TA. He does it in a different way. It’s actually amazing how well Ray can score in the paint because he’s really not fast and he’s not as strong as TA. I don’t know what Ray was like earlier in his career and maybe it’s his experience that allows him to do what he does. Hopefully TA is watching what RA does.

(See the Gabe Pruitt discussion.)

SW

You nailed pretty much what I’ve been seeing in TA. He is playing a bit better but still you start to get nervous when he is in the game in the fourth quarter. I’m still rooting for him, but can he take the next step in his game and reduce turnovers in the fourth quarter? I don’t know-posey could do in the fourth quarter what TA can’t do now.

It’s true that Tony is inconsistent on offense and turnover-prone (as Pierce was until he stopped trying to do everything himself).

But there is nothing inconsistent about Tony’s defense. He’s the best defender on the team after Garnett, and its best perimeter defender. So the haters can spew all they want, but the Celtics are lucky to have him for 2M a year.

he’s playing out of position. He’s being asked to play the point when he’s not a point. The 2nd unit needs a reliable backup point….not Eddie either. Tony is a SF/SG.

Gabe Pruitt is:
- A MUCH better shooter than Tony Allen. (Actually, TA is not a shooter at all, so that’s not saying much.)
- As aggressive and energetic an individual defender as TA.
- A much better overall defender than TA, because he doesn’t RUN INTO PEOPLE and get called for those fouls in EVERY game like TA, and because Gabe is smart and TA is not.
- A much better ball handler than TA (TA loses the ball for a turnover at least once per game, on average).
- As tall as TA.
- Also pretty athletic. (You saw that dunk.)
- Calm and in control.

When either Rondo or Ray needs to sit down, Pruitt should be going in. He’s a natural point guard with a great outside shot. Hell, TA couldn’t hit a 3 if his life depended on it… and GP is shooting like Ray out there.

So, uhh… why is GP sitting on the bench and TA playing so many minutes?

On the assumption that Doc knows what he’s doing, I have a theory. The Celts may be trying to burnish TA’s numbers in preparation for a trade. Hope that’s the case anyway, because TA is currently on the wrong team. He seems like a nice enough guy, and he tries hard and all, but he is not going to grow any more brain cells and the few he has aren’t working right.

Btw, Patrick O. has shown us some good things lately, especially on defense but also on offense. Ferrchissakes tho, somebody PLEASE TEACH HIM HOW TO SET A PICK. I mean, give me 15 minutes and I’ll explain it to him. YOU CAN’T MOVE INTO GUYS WHEN SETTING A PICK. Got that?! He gets called on at least one of those every single time he plays. (Oh yeah, and quit trying to make hero passes. As Doc says, just play solid basketball ya big fruitcake.)

i’ve noticed lately Tony is making excellent touch passes around the rim, and i’ve been hopeful it’s an indication of better decisions to come. I still feel he gambles too much on d, leaving him out of position on occasion. his talents are obvious but the guy is cable of taking 1 to 2 charges a game at least.

Really an excellent article on Tony´s status quo as a player, sw, as far as the amateur on this side of the internet can tell. Very balanced take on this subject and you nailed every important point, imo.

I particularly like this quote:
Playing hard is a good start. But playing hard needs to be coupled with playing smart in order for that hustle to be as meaningful as possible.

He is a very athletic player who was once a freakishly athletic player. His injuries have brought him closer to the average NBA player, but he is still gifted that way. He plays very good defense, although he tends to over run the play most of the time but gets away with it due to the mentioned athleticism. He has a great first step to the basket, but tends to have his head down most of the time which forces him into committing a charge or turning the ball over when the opening he thought was there wasn’t. Some players like Ray Allen have the ability to adjust to what the defense does naturally which is why he is so smooth and can finish in traffic easily. TA is a player who makes a move and expects it to work. If it doesn’t he gets in trouble and turns it over. Sometimes his athleticism allows him to finish it off anyway.

TA is what he is. A really good 9-10th player on a championship team. An under-skilled 6th man. If we had a couple guys on that unit better than him it would help. I do think we have that in Powe, but TA won’t give him the rock!

I don’t think Tony is a dumb player at all. He never misses a defensive rotation— which is something that Powe does with some frequency. Tony is also unselfish and a good passer.

Tony’s problem is that his brain gets ahead of his body when he’s trying to do things with the ball. He’s like the football receiver who tries to turn and run before he’s actually caught the pass.

signed today with Houston .

i like tony because he gives it his all. he also wears his heart on his sleeve which makes him look more vulnerable than he is. get ray to coach him how to shoot the j. he is as we all know a limited second teamer but he is not the problem on this team. we need length.

I don’t think there are any problems on this team, barring injuries— unless you consider failing to break the all time NBA record for wins in a season to be a problem.

Tony still has not come back completely from his knee injury. I would say he is in the realm of 80-90% back. Certainly stronger this year than last, but not the incredible athlete who would finish his drives with a hard jam 2/3 of the time, the pre-injury Tony. Some of that may be physical, some mental. Typically it takes a 2-3 years to get back the full explosion, or closer to it, than what we have seen. And this really compromises what tony can do. He also is not shooting the ball as well as he is capable from the outside. I think in another year we will see the best we can hope for. Now is too soon to assess his value long term.

But until that player can take the next step toward playing consistently smarter basketball and making better decisions on the court, it will remain difficult to trust that player when a game – or perhaps a playoff series and thus a season – is on the line. I’m far from at that point of trust yet with Tony Allen. And as his role on this team becomes more vital, that’s increasingly what this is all about.

And I also think this is the crux of the issue.

Tony has greatly reduced the “bad Tony” moments that we all cringed over last year. He is a unique combination of talents for this team and that is our strength- a mix of talents. He’s not as game smart as Rondo or the shooter of Ray but he defends and slashes very well. His biggest problem was noted by Steve – he draws a lot of fouls (good!) and then misses way too many freebies. Leon seems to have lifted himself out of this problem – watch him – someone has been working with him on freebies. C’mon Tony! A person with large, not too large, hands and nothing to do but practice b-ball all day should make 80%.

nickagneta, you’re kidding right. Tony was playing for the (pick one) Memphis Grizzlies, Sac Kings and Minn TWovles in 12/06-1/07. He could be doing that right now for them. He’s playing fine and if the coaches keep bringing his fragile confidence along the steals/blocks will exceed the dumb TOs.

This team is 28-4. T Allen is first man off bench. He does dumb things on occasion and stands himself out for it by banging his head. But I’m glad he’s on our side.

Well done, Steve.

Tony’s a useful component of a championship bench as a defender.

But he still plays too dumb to be a useful sixth man.

There’s been much talk lately about the Cavs being right there with the C’s. I think, barring something unforeseen, that these two teams will meet in the East finals. I think the C’s are still the better team. But LeBron is a scary guy and here is where we will miss Posey. My statement is this: Scals is the best qualified player on the team, at this time, to replace Pose in these games. PP is the best man on man defender of LeBron. He’s the only one who can force LeBron to his left. When he did this last year it was Posey that was often in position to take a charge, force a walk on LeBron, or make him get rid of the ball with his team defense. I think Scals can do this.

He is not 100% physically. He does not finish the way he did before. Maybe this is all we are going to get from him, but you cannot deny that he is not finishing the way he was able before the injury.

My thing with Tony is that I feel he’s being asked to/is trying to do too much. Because the 2nd unit lacks reliable shooters and ball handlers and wing defenders, TA is usually caught trying to do too many things. If he just had to play man-to-man D and take shots when he was open, he’d be fine. But he’s handling the ball, trying to make plays, help defending and trying to get to rim. He’s not Pierce, so he can’t do everything well with any consistency. And if he’s asked to defend a 6’7-6’10 SF, he’s giving up alot of inches.

Is he still recovering from his surgery? Maybe. I’d argue his biggest issue is not having enough help on the 2nd unit. Hopefully Ainge gets that worked out soon.