Tony Allen Finds Himself Back on the Bench

Definitely agree with all your points – Doc knows exactly what he has with Tony. He’ll get his burn when D is a priority. But he’s giving Finley some room to show what he’s got.

Ironically, though, I think there’s also a level of predictability in Tony’s unpredictability. He still has those brain-fart out-of-control moments, and I think Finley is really the antithesis of that. You know you’ll see the turnstiles on D with Finley, and you know you’ll see polished moves on offense. Not much to complain about if you know what you’re getting.

It’s clear to me that Doc has never had full faith in TA… and why should he ? He could tell TA “don’t go for the upfake”… it’s in one ear and out the other. I think that Doc sees Finley as a Posey replacement… someone who can shoot 3s late, and not make stupid mistakes. Sheed was supposed to be that guy, but he hasn’t been what they expected. With that said, I expect that that late-game playoff lineup will be Pierce, Allen, Finley, Sheed, and Rondo.

I know it was garbage time, but I think TA’s body language and behavior on the court last night might be a sign that he feels the current dip in playing time IS in fact a demotion. He was looking to get his (the right way to play would have been to let the shot clock expire with 6 seconds left, not to drive and dish to Sheldon Williams), and then he placed the ball on the floor and was in the locker room with 2 seconds still left on the game clock. Basically he looked like he didn’t give a sh**.

Tony should get to play… He has earned it this season with all the injuries….

…that Fin needs burn time with the team, and that’s why Doc’s been giving him as much PT as he can, etc.

The problem is: TA may be regressing with all this bench time. Whether it’s emotional (as Jiegel says) or physical (rust), or both… who knows. But it seems real. In the little we have seen him, he’s been pretty bad – getting close to Bad-TA bad. If that’s really happening, I’m not sure it’s worth it… certainly it’s debatable… to lose TA’s ferocious defensive abilities in order to get Fin acclimated. We have scorers on this team. But there’s nobody else like TA on D.

Thank God. I thought this was going to be a “I’m Tony’s Dad, so I’m going to whine about him being benched” article. Thankfully, it wasn’t that.

Honestly, I don’t care. He’s, at best, a rotation player on the bench. If we never fully develop him, it’ll hardly be a tragedy. Moreover, if he’d lived up to even a quarter of his abilities, he’d have long ago taken the duties of the primary 2/3 backup over. It’s really a testament to his general incompetence that he couldn’t even do that last year with no competition.

I don’t think we’ll see a lot of him in “spot minutes” either in the playoffs. Maybe if we play Miami and Wade, but he’s really not all that helpful against bigger 3s, since he’s only 6-4. So I don’t see him playing a role in any series against Orlando or Cleveland.

Tony is too inconsistent and incapable (no jump shot) on the offensive end to be a primary SG backup.

Marquis is a much better version of TA.

Finley, Nate, and Sheed space the floor plenty for Marquis. Add in either Ray or Pierce who will always be on the floor.

whether you love TA or not (and historically speaking, i DO), he’s just not THAT good of an NBA player…he was a non-factor when we won the championship in 07-08 (did he even suit up for a game that year?).

Outside of the 6 weeks prior to his ACL tear, Tony Allen has never really brought a TON to the table. I even think he’s a bit overrated defensively. He’s a very good help/team defender but he’s NOT Trenton Hassel circa 2002.

Greg, your first paragraph is the same thing that many here have said about Walker and Giddens—>give them playing time to get acclimated to the game, learn how to play the way they need to play and contribute to the success of the team.

Others have stated above that Finley SHOULD get playing time over TA because he’s better offensively. What a double standard. Walker and Giddens can score but their detractors didn’t want them on the court for their offense. they wanted them on the floor when Doc (whom they seem to trust blindly) felt they could play defense. Well, Finley doesn’t play much defense yet it’s ok for him to be on the floor.

Summed up: Doc loves vets, pure and simple. Those that think Doc knows what he’s doing with evaluating young players or think he actually developed players that were shipped out will give him any excuse in the book for his preference for vets.

Personally, I’m ok with Finley getting time since I think the second unit needs an actual shooting wing player but it’s a shame TA doesn’t see time instead of Daniels in some circumstances.

Tony has had an outstanding season, for the money the Celtics are paying him: Efficient offense (he was really starting to find some consistency in his 12- to 15-footer), smart play generally, and of course phenomenal defense. I understand Doc’s benching him to get Finley acclimated. I don’t understand all the hate the still gets spewed against Tony on this blog.