Tony Allen: The Good, the Bad and the Case for More Minutes

By Mike Martin

Tony Allen should be playing more minutes.

I am not panicking. I am not crazy. With Allen, you pretty much have to make those disclaimers up front after leading off with a sentence like that.

Yes, I see all the other stuff he does out there too. Fouls of jump shooters after the barest of up fakes. The crossover dribble turnover in traffic that you can see coming two passes before he gets the ball. And a new favorite for this season, the dribble where his hand just misses the ball on the way up and it flies up over his head like he’s a third grader losing focus as he dribbles through the cones.

But as of right now, this Celtics team needs Tony Allen or someone like him to produce in some bigger minutes, and until some other move is made you may as well play TA. Not just because they don’t have anyone else, but because he contributes in ways that are easily obscured by some of his questionable decision-making (and at this point we’re not talking about bar brawls or post-whistle dunks).

To the surprise of many, the Celtics’ calling card this year has been their defense. Credit has largely gone to Kevin Garnett, with a side order of Xs and Os from Tom Thibodeau. But defense in the modern NBA requires five guys working together to help and recover, expending effort to rotate, challenge shots and clean the boards. A key piece to this puzzle has been James Posey, a savvy veteran who knows his way around on the defensive end, and someone to whom Tony Allen is invariably compared and found wanting.

But lost in those comparisons is the fact that Posey’s value has been heightened because of the team’s ability to play him as a power forward. Posey can play physical enough to force a stalemate down low, but is more mobile than the traditional plodders that play the position. As illustrated by Shawn Marion in Phoenix, the modern NBA rewards the small forward who can defend bigger guys on the defensive end and cause matchup problems by spreading the floor on offense. If the Celtics had to play Posey for big minutes at the wing position they would lose all of these potential benefits. As the team’s primary wing sub, Allen allows Doc Rivers to work Posey’s matchup advantage to its greatest effect.

Similarly, a more consistent contribution from Allen would solidify the point guard position as well, at least on the defensive end. Rajon Rondo has exceeded expectations on offense, hitting the open jumpers more often than not and providing a faster pace that has been sorely missing during his absence over the last week. However, on the defensive end his reputation has exceeded his effectiveness. He is excellent off the ball gambling for steals in the passing lanes. But in terms of stopping opposing point guards Romdo has been far from the “beast” that Peter May described him to be in a column earlier this week.

Rondo’s highest profile difficulty has been with Chauncey Billups, but both T.J. Ford and Jameer Nelson have also had extremely productive games against Rondo and the Celtics, which is distressing considering they play for the three primary contenders in the East. Allen allows for a change of pace in defending at the lead guard slot, a bigger player who won’t be muscled into the post but can still hang with a dribbler. The point guards rumored to be on the buyout market (Stoudamire, Cassell, etc) are all undersized and/or poor defenders, so this happens to be one role that the Celtics won’t be able to fill better than with the guy they have now.

On offense, Allen’s contribution is less immediately evident, but no less important. The one thing this Celtics team is short on is players that can create offense by getting to the rim. Right now, Pierce, Rondo and TA are the only players who can draw help and create openings. Without one of them on the floor the offense is stagnant, with a bunch of standstill shooters and reluctant post players all making a halfhearted fake, taking a tentative dribble, and passing the ball to the next guy for the same routine. While Allen has been anything but efficient, there have been games like the game at the Lakers a few weeks ago where he was the primary catalyst for a very productive offense.

So what am I asking for? More consistent minutes. Minutes at the expense of Eddie House, who I otherwise love. Minutes at crunch time of a regular season game against a middling team when you’d otherwise want better free throw shooters on the floor. Minutes at point guard when he’s dribbling like the ball is covered with broken glass, no matter how many years it takes off Tommy Heinsohn’s life to watch it.

I’d say this for anyone in Allen’s position. The team has established that it’s going to be among the league leaders at the end of the year. They should treat the regular season like the Spurs do: a shakedown cruise in January and February that leads to the team peaking at the right time in April and May (and June). Now is the time to give guys like TA more minutes than they really deserve, so long as it’s for the greater good of the team.

Monday’s loss to the Wizards was a case in point. During the first half of the fourth quarter the Celtics were playing ugly offense, as the Wizards extended the defensive pressure to take advantage of Allen and House’s weak handles. The Cs couldn’t get a play started before 13 seconds were left on the shot clock, but they scraped together a few hoops and in the meantime they were clamping down on defense like they had in so many wins this year. They went on a 14-4 run and a minute or two later Ray Allen came in for Tony. That was a prime opportunity to leave TA in, not only to keep the defensive effort strong but also to give Allen some minutes learning how to play with a lead in crunch time.

But leaving aside those points, for Allen there is even more reason to feed him all the playing time he can handle. In each of Allen’s first three years there has been a period at the beginning of the season where he has struggled. Then at some point a switch is flipped and suddenly Allen is playing like you had always wanted him to (and never thought he would again).

Last year was a prime example. Much like this year he was coming off an injury, and at first he seemed uncomfortable with the limitations on his previously high flying game. But then in December he started playing very consistent ball, ending his season with 14 consecutive double digit scoring games. Revisionist historians recall this burst as being driven by Pierce’s absence, but in fact Allen averaged 18.5 ppg in the 4 games before Pierce got hurt.

There’s no way anyone can know whether Allen will ever regain the lift that made him a special talent in his rookie year. But a wise investment in minutes now could result in the team having a more confident player able to fill needed roles come playoff time.

It just won’t be easy on the eyes.