Starting Tony Allen At Point?
by Jeff Clark on Jun 12, 2008 6:53 AM EDT
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John Hollinger has some interesting news and thoughts:
Rivers raised eyebrows at Wednesday's press conference when he threw in a mention of the possibility of starting little-used Tony Allen at the point.
For Boston, the advantage of playing Tony Allen would come with size and defense. He's 6-4 and a good athlete, and if the Celtics are going to be playing a halfcourt game anyway, it probably doesn't hurt to trot out a bigger lineup -- they won't be getting transition points anyway.
Additionally, Allen provides two other advantages. The first is transition switches. The Lakers "crossmatched" by having Bryant guarding Rondo for much of Game 3 so that when the Celtics missed shots and the Lakers pushed it up quickly, Boston wouldn't have time to switch Ray Allen back on to Bryant.
Thus, Rondo would end up in a mismatch against the much bigger Bryant, which is how Bryant earned several of his free throws. That strategy doesn't work with the all-Allen backcourt, because Boston is comfortable with either defending Bryant.
The second advantage is that it lets Ray Allen off the hook as far as guarding Kobe, since Tony is better suited for the job anyway. He's athletic, has decent size and fared very well against Bryant (and several other elite scorers) in the regular season. As good as Boston was on defense this year, they were 3.0 points per 48 minutes better when Tony Allen was on the floor.
Could it work? Who knows? I just hope Rondo's healthy enough to make it a moot point.
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Tony is so rusty… this has the potential for disaster. If Rondo can’t go, I get the reasoning, and I like this idea better than playing Sam heavy minutes. Doc in the past has kept Eddie in a bench role, and there’s some sense to that; Eddie plays better as an energy player for the bench, and Tony would be better with the starters, where he doesn’t take on a starring role. It might allow Tony to play more within himself, which would keep the turnovers down.
However, hopefully Rondo can go, because this move makes me nervous.
by Roy_Hobbs on Jun 12, 2008 7:12 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
In every game both teams will be changing things up as needed. At this point in the season I would start House if Rondo is hurt, he can cover Fisher. Ray can cover Kobe and bring in Tony Allen as needed but Pierce can bring the ball up against Vladimir and if they put Sasha on him they can switch back to Sam/Rondo/Ray or Tony to bring up the ball. When the time is right bring in Posey to cover Kobe when the Bigs are in and he can force his outside shot and he cannot drive as well against him because Perk, PJ or KG are clogging up the middle. Keep them guessing and make them make changes to their plans. The Celtics are versatile team.
by CelticsWin on Jun 12, 2008 7:13 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
All I have to say is all those time Doc played Tony at the point during this season and in seasons past. Now did it work out?
by CT34 on Jun 12, 2008 7:17 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
It always seem that either the good or the bad TA shows up, very few time do we get something in between..with that in mind, if we are going to use Tony we should do it early in the game to find out if the good or bad TA shows up..if nothing else it will give something else for Jackson to think about..
by Fastbreak on Jun 12, 2008 7:50 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Hopefully Doc was just high when he said that…..smoking a box of Gino’s Pizza Rolls with Scali. TA?…….Dude
by Master Po on Jun 12, 2008 7:57 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
PUH leese- Tony Allen is a disaster waiting to happen. I would put him on Vujavic first and if he does ok there then maybe let him guard Kobe for a few minutes, but Tony Allen at the point? I can only shudder to think what would happen there.
by Red2 on Jun 12, 2008 7:57 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I like this idea..but Doc needs to have a very short leash – a couple of ill-advised jumpers or out of control drives should send him back to the pine.
It would be cool to win this game while giving Rondo a night off. Then put him back in there for a potential clinching game 5.
by ChiefDK on Jun 12, 2008 8:04 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
on the plus side, the last time tony started at point vs the lakers was earlier this season. he had 16 in a game they won by 18. kobe went 6-25 that game.
by bucknersrevenge on Jun 12, 2008 8:14 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Fastbreak is right on it. We’ve all seen good Tony (above average D, drives lane, mid range jumper) and we’ve all seen bad Tony (bounces ball off foot, passes to nowhere, loses sight of his man). Most of us agree Sam is not the answer and, as R Hobbs says, Eddie is best as energy off bench.
Thus I’m for starting Tony and giving him five minutes (not one TO and out) to get in game flow and see which Tony shows up. If its good Tony our best moments have come from PG driving lane. Rondo mostly passed. Tony should go to hoop and draw fouls.
by Wildblu1 on Jun 12, 2008 8:21 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
l like to see the ref’s tonight everybody is going to pay very close attention this may be good for us i hope ;D
by eddietours on Jun 12, 2008 8:24 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Oh my. I just spit coffee all over my desk. Hey Doc, why not let me play point? I’d be just as effective on the offensive end, I’m certainly capable of dribbling the ball off my foot and out of bounds.
Alternatively, if “good” Tony shows up and he’s throwing down Blackout Dunks on Pau and talking about the fantastic Sal-MON and Mashed he had before the game that may end up being the highlight of the year for me.
by Green17 on Jun 12, 2008 9:00 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I posted this in the forum …
I think it would be a fantastic decision
Starting Tony rather than having him come off the bench will be easier for him. He can go straight from warmups to game action instead of spending 30 minutes sitting on the bench. It’ll be a lot easier for him to find the flow of the game. It’ll also be easier for him playing next to the starters instead of having to play with the second unit, they’ll keep the game simple and he’ll do well.
I’m also not too enthusiastic about House or Cassell starting or playing inflated minutes. I don’t think either of those guys bring the threat that Tony does and I don’t believe either of those guys can sustain a high level of performance for many minutes at this moment in time. I think we get much more out of Sam and House by having them stay as the backup and giving a slight increase in minutes. It keeps their roles the same and they know how to handle that.
That said the whole thing is mute. There’s no way Rondo isn’t starting, that would be ridiculous.
by Who on Jun 12, 2008 9:57 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
It might work. Tony and Rajon are a wash on outside shooting. Tony can cover bigger guys, such as Kobe on the switch. Although Rajon is better penetrating, Tony can slash and dish. We would give up a few more turnovers, but I think it is worth giving him some burn.
by footey on Jun 12, 2008 10:32 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
This is why – as a coach – you need to find minutes for your players, especially the ones you might use down the road. Phil got TAriza ready for the Cs, Doc didn’t get TA ready for LA.
Still, I am a big TA fan and when he’s got it going, he is really tough defensively/offensively.
by cocofan on Jun 12, 2008 10:52 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
this might be worse than when Doc started Scal in KG’s absence.
by cmoney on Jun 12, 2008 11:34 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
meh maybe it won’t matter too much because he’ll pick up 2 quick fouls on pump fakes anyway
by cmoney on Jun 12, 2008 11:35 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
When’s the over/under that the ball ends up in Jack’s lap after Tony boots it?
by MBurke15 on Jun 12, 2008 12:43 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
It’s funny how most people hate this idea in the comments but if you look at the Forum post, most people think it is a good idea, which is insane.
Personally, I think it’s one of the worst ideas EVA!!!! I’d rather have Ray Allen run the point, Pierce and Posey at the 2/3 (virtually interchangable), KG at 4 and Perk at 5. If Allen and Pierce will be bringing up the ball anyhow (even Posey can get it done on the press), why even play TAllen in the first place? This is one of the best defensive 5 rotations we could have if Rondo can’t play.
I think House makes the most sense but too many minutes can get to him. I’d rather he come off the bench for an offensive boost. Doc probably won’t even play him tonight just like he did to Powe in Game 3 for virtually no reason…
by DJ RYB on Jun 12, 2008 2:32 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
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