First off thanks to Celtics Blog for the heads up on this one. Secondly I am now officially worried about Rajon Rondo's health. And now the matter at hand. John Hollinger reports that Tony Allen could conceivably start at point guard. On the one hand Allen has proven he needs starter's minutes to be effective. And as regular visitors know I am a big fan of Allen. At the same time I don't like this for a number of reasons:
- Tommy Heinsohn once created a three-dribble rule for Allen. After his third dribble he had to shoot or pass. Granted this was never enforced. Generally speaking that's not the kind of rule I want people proposing for a point guard, even if Ray Allen and Paul Pierce pick up the ball handling slack.
- At no point this season did I think the following, "Wow Tony Allen looks great. He's regained his explosiveness."
- Kobe Bryant will live inside his head. Seriously Allen has some Lamar Odom potential in terms of reacting to the big stage.
Maybe Rondo is just fine. Maybe this doesn't happen at all. Or maybe Allen plays and makes me look like an idiot. I've been wrong before. A lot. However, in my last post I wrote the following before I even heard of this possibility: "Don't panic. The Celtics are up 2 and lost a close one on the road. Now is not the time to throw Tony Allen out there to defend Kobe Bryant." Allen hasn't seen significant time since the middle of April. And he's not a wily veteran. He's a young guy that mentally can be his own biggest enemy.
I am worried...