Tony Allen's Uphill Climb

I hope Tony can eventually play the way he did pre-injury.

I still have my doubts, though.

when he missed the layup, tommy was very gracious about it as we all should be. tony goofs up a lot, but the effort is always there. powe came back after 2 knee surgeries and so can tony. if he stays with the c’s, depends on who they draft or what they do with pruitt. tony is a slasher and a physical player which we need- and a bit of a head case- more due to the injury than anything else. he needs minutes in the remaining games and doc gave them to him vs. miami.

lookit, he has all kinds of talent but he has rocks for brains. He must be one of the stupidest players in the NBA. The dumb fouls he commits are unbelievable. EVEN IF he knee gets better etc his head will still be the same and he will still give up in dumb plays and turnoevers as much as he produces on defense/offense. I would not resign him unless he has a miraculous turnaround in the next 9 games

He’ll get Scalabrine money from someone. I really like Tony’s game and hope the Celtics resign him. He does more good things than bad things out there, and the ratio will improve as he gets his confidence back. I don’t think he’s a dumb player at all. He’s always where he’s supposed to be defensively, and defensive rotations are the most difficult thing, mentally.

IMHO one of Tony’s problems is that he’s the kind of player you always notice. He rarely plays passively. This magnifies the mistakes he makes. He steals the ball and then blows a layup. That’s better in my view than not stealing it at all, and on the play discussed above, the C’s got 2 points out of it anyway.

I’m with Brick. Keep Tony. I think he will come at a reasonably cheap price. I believe Tony will come around and we’ll be glad we got him locked up cheap.

I’ve been a big TA supporter in the past, but there’s no place on a championship team for a moron. I can live with physical mistakes, but when a player makes the same mental mistakes over and over again, he doesn’t deserve court time.

There is a need on this team for a perimeter defender and slasher off the bench, but not one that gives up four points for every two he gets. The second unit has been a disaster lately, and Tony has been a big reason for it. Check out these March numbers for TA – 14 games, 16.9min, 3.9ppg on 34% shooting, 0% from three.

TA hasn’t scored in double figures or hit a three pointer since February 22nd, when Baron Davis made a three pointer against him for the win. I hope Tony can use the rest of the regular season to get it together, but I’m not hopeful. His body language lately looks more fitting for someone on the Heat, not the Celtics.

Typo in above post – should say “February 20th”

The second unit has been a disaster because of Cassell, not Tony Allen. Put Eddie House at the point for the second unit and they do just fine.

You also can’t blame Tony for the two bad second unit performances when Tony didn’t play at all because of his back. And lest we not forget, he hurt his back making a brilliant defensive play.

I really don’t understand everyone’s Tony Allen fascination. The guy strung together like 6 or 7 goods games in a row for a team in the midst of an 18 game losing streak and people act like he was on the fast track to the All Star game before his career got sidetracked. It’s really mindboggling. I watch all the games and whenever the ball is in his hands the whole time I’m hoping he’ll just pass it before he turns it over. How many times does a guy have to dribble off his own leg or lose the ball out of bounds for no reason before you can say the guy’s simply not talented? In the NBA if you’re a 2 guard with no ballhandling skills you’re in trouble and it has nothing to do with his leg injury. Tommy and Mike are always talking about how Tony is one step away from being back to form, Doc says getting Tony to 100% is the most important thing the rest of the season, and posters on Celticsblog are constantly praising Tony Allen’s slashing and defense. Sean Grande said on CSL that he likes Tony Allen having the ball in his hands. I almost spit out my drink. People lament that all Tony needs are more minutes. So we can watch him bite at pump fakes and put his head down, looking at his feet, while he drives to the basket? Am I the only one who feels Celtics Nation has gone mad? Please put down the Tony Allen Kool Aid. He’s the worst player on this team not named Air Intangibles.

Tony is worth keeping just for his defense. I get the feeling that he finds trouble when he overthinks his game. If he attacks with the ball & plays solid D he’s worth the investment.

The trouble comes in when he’s suckered for cheap fouls or when he tries to handle the ball in traffic & coughs up the ball. The fouls will be there until he learns the veteran tricks. The turnovers can be limited by keeping the ball out of his hands until he has a path to the basket. That’s on Rondo & Sam.

Tony is a role player who can occasionally catch fire. Maybe he’s Matt Harpring with hops. I think that’s ok. You just don’t give him the ball or 15 shots per game.

Tony is not dumb. Case in point: the end of the first Spurs game when he was put in to guard Ginobli. Tony played him tight but backed off and put his arms down just as Ginobli attempted his patented draw-contact (flop?) move. Result: horrible off-balance shot from Ginobli, no foul by Tony, Celtics win. No less a defender than Battier went for that fake and fouled two or three times the other day against Ginobli. Tony’s smart.

Everyone here is banking on the fact of him actually being able to learn and correct mistakes. 4 years later he is making the same dumb rookie mistakes. That has absolutely nothing to do with his injury. He will always be a low BBALL IQ player. He will hang around the league until his athleticism no longer gives him any value to a team. I’d say we are almost there. The team Dr. says that his knee is 100%. No more excuses. Yes he has had a back issue the last few games. That doesn’t explain the rest of them. Make your pros and cons list. You can fill up the cons side. Not very many on the pros, and those that used to be there are getting real hard to justify still deserving being there. Cut him loose after this year, or worse case after a one year tender… He will be easily replaced…

Tony Allen ……….I was at the game when he tore up his knee and I was at Sunday’s game when he missed the layup…..

Dumb, Dumb, Dumb,,, Tony does it to himself….. I’ve never liked his game and what he brings to the court…

Forget the injuries…. He has a small mind for his body sorry to say… I’ve watched him enough to know that the talent he has doesn’t match what’s inside his brain!!!!