Tony Allen: “Ever Since This Ubuntu Thing . . . “
Tony Allen’s interview, which many of the major papers picked up, is here in video from NECN.com. Tony says “Ever since ths ubuntu thing, I wanted to be a part of it”. A Celtic he is for 2 more years.
Here’s what NECN.com has to say:
The talks are over, Tony Allen is a Boston Celtic, and the guard says he’s glad the talking is over.
“I love Boston,” Allen told reporters today after signing a new two-year deal. “I didn’t want it to be even an issue of whether I leave or stay.”
Allen called the last month of contract talks “very frustrating,” not because he was annoyed by the progress, but because he had to just wait while the deal was done. He said he always want to return to Boston if possible, and sees himself even finishing his career as a Celtic.
And he said after a year where he was rarely 100 percent because of his injured knee, he’ll be ready to go for the 2008-2009 title defense.
“(Last year) some days were better than others,” Allen said. “This summer is just basically relaxing it and strengthening it more and I’ll be ready come October.”
This may be the best kept secret in the NBA my friends - Tony Allen is a difference-maker. There is a bit of a disconnect between the 2007-08 championship season for TAllen and the dismal 2006-07 season the Celtics endured. But, if you recall, TAllen was a terror back 2 years ago, and he showed glimpses when he got court time this past year, especially as a starter. From 82games.com, this is what Tony Allen did with Rondo, Pierce, Garnett and Perkins:
Min Off Def +/- W L Win%
------------------------------------
159 1.15 0.93 +74 12 5 70.5
Which means, albeit from a very small sample population, you could argue that the Celtics didn’t miss much of a beat when Tony was playing versus Ray Allen. And you could probably swap out Paul Pierce with Ray Allen and end up with the same result.
So perhaps as long as we have an Allen in the line-up, the Celtics will be okay in the wing department - and listening to Tony, he sounds like he’s ready to do what is necessary in James Posey’s absence. And if not, the Celtics have J.R. Giddens and Billy Walker waiting in the wings.
Bear in mind, there is no one that is going to take the place of James Posey on the team as currently constructed. But since Tony Allen is an excellent defender, and Eddie House is likely more clutch than even “Big Game” James Posey, some manipulation of the minutes with more from Eddie, Tony, Leon, Glen and even Brian Scalabrine . . . and the Celtics might not even notice that James “Big Game” went south for the winter . . . and beyond.
This entry was posted
on Thursday, July 24th, 2008 at 11:15 pm and is filed under Celtics.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
THE AUTHOR
RECENT ARTICLES BY DIVISION RIVALS
ARCHIVE
SPONSORS
Online Seats
Celtics Tickets Boston Red Sox Tickets
Ticket Specialists
7 Responses to “Tony Allen: “Ever Since This Ubuntu Thing . . . “”
July 25th, 2008 at 8:49 am
[…] to 2000 LOY’s Place Rumors and free agent updates - lots of signings edition Celtics 17 Tony Allen: Ever since this ubuntu thing ESPN Ellis inks a $67 million deal to stay with Warriors Team USA’s golden oldie brings […]
July 25th, 2008 at 9:50 am
Hey Bob,
I’m a huge TA fan, don’t get me wrong. But the difference between TA and Posey is, while TA’s probably a better man defender, Posey was, and is, by far the better team defender.
Offensively is where the difference really lies. Posey was a putback guy or a 3 point shooter, and that’s it. TA (the real TA, that is, not the imposter wearing his uniform last year) is a slasher, and makes things happen on offense.
The one area where they’re comparable is hustle. They will both scrape on both ends of the floor.
I’m really really hoping we get the real TA back!
July 25th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
I, for one, am very happy that Tony was re-signed. He is a tough player with a good amount of heart, not to mention a good value. If fully recovered, I believe Tony will show his worth by being a solid contributor.
www.betsportsweb.com
July 25th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Although I thoroughly agree with your statement saying that there was almost no difference in rhythm when the Celtics swapped out Ray Allen and TA, I don’t necessarily agree with you on how they could swap out Paul Pierce with Ray Allen. Pierce’s defensive game has obviously gotten much better, and he has more experience on offense, making him a little more affective.
July 25th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
You know, I’m a sucker for guys that are loyal, and if they give back to the team like Tony Allen has tried to do, he’s my kind of guy.
Zeke - let’s hope he comes back, all the way back plus some, with the plus some being gaining in smarts from Ray Allen and KG in town, and Tony already credited James Posey for his increased understanding and strategy.
Everyone has made a bonehead move on this team, and Tony Allen just has to shake the reputation, because he’s not that far off the mark. For instance - people came down on Tony pretty hard when he made that last second foul on Chauncey Billups last fall, allowing Detroit to win. That got everyone up in arms thinking we needed a veteran PG during crunch time to spell Rondo etc. I think that was all blown out of proportion myself. The thinking was that Billups would have his way with Rondo, House is not a defender, and Tony Allen will make bonehead moves . . . bad rap perhaps.
One thing Tony can’t shake, is that he has the most TOs per 48/min on the team - and that is Allen has to improve - “value the ball” as we used to say at scout.com
StevieE - “here here” - I think Tony has a lot of team-mates behind him because of his heart, and the value thing sort of relates to the loyalty I think he has to the Celtics, and not trying real hard to shop around as a free agent this summer.
Celtics Fanatic - Paul Pierce in the line-up is a step-up from Ray Allen, but all I’m saying is the team would not be dysfunctional playing short minutes with a Rondo-RAllen-TAllen-KG-Perk lineup!
July 25th, 2008 at 7:45 pm
true that manchvegasbob
July 26th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Im glad TA will get a chance to prove to himself first,and the world,he still got game.Next,i will not expect him to handle more than he should.He is 6′4″,and don’t think he is the man to back Pierce up aganist Lebron,or guys who play the 3 at a high level.Also,i don’t think he will bring the exact same thing to the table as Ray,or least when it comes to spreading the offense(3pt)arsensal.Tony has his pluses and need to use them to his advantage,but i do not see him playing at the same level as Ray or Paul.
Leave a comment