Tony troubles Redd with expert defense</p> <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'></p> <span class="articleBegin">T</span>ony Allen got to start a game last night for the first time since the fateful evening of Jan. 10, when he blew out his left knee. He had a modest 11 points in place of Ray Allen, yet he still managed to score the lion’s share of Celtics<font color="#888888"> </font>praise.</p> That’s because there’s another end to the court, and it’s one on which Tony Allen can and should be a factor in every game. In the 104-82 victory over Milwaukee at TD Banknorth Garden, he took away the guests’ hope by holding leading scorer Michael Redd to a season-low seven points, 17.1 below his average.</p> “He was awesome,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said of Allen. “Just terrific. Defensively he was as good as you want. He was physical, aggressive. I mean, Michael Redd’s an All-Star. That’s a tough matchup. I was happy that he did it and he did it without getting into foul trouble, as well.</p> “If someone looks at the stat sheet they’re going to see 3-for-7, and if you had a game ball you would probably give it to Tony Allen tonight. I thought he set the tone for us in the first half. Then in the third quarter, defensively we were absolutely phenomenal. We played with better energy, and it started to get us back into the offensive break, which we did better in the third quarter.”</p> Redd was limited to just 1-for-4 shooting in the third quarter and 3-for-9 for the game, with Allen doing well both individually and in the scheme.</p> “It wasn’t just Tony,” said Milwaukee coach Larry Krystkowiak. “I thought that their bigs came out when we set any pick-and-rolls and jumped him pretty good. We were just a little step slow in terms of getting to our spots and giving Mike some options.</p> “But I think that’s one of the reasons Tony was in the lineup, to bring his energy. He’s a good wing defender. Mike sees those guys all the time. He’s going to see their best wing defender, and certainly (Allen) did a nice job on him.”</p> There are times when Allen needs to be reminded that defense is his true NBA calling card. His head may have been turned a bit by the fact he was regularly throwing in 20 points a night before his injury, and his ability to get to the basket (and the free throw line) will be critical for the Celts before this is all said and done.</p> But his ‘D’ is key, and his mates kept him focused on that last night.</p> “That was huge. TA was huge for us tonight,” Kevin Garnett said. “He was coming to the bench asking about his offense, but we were praising him more for his defense. He did a great job.”</p> Rivers had wanted to rest Ray Allen both Wednesday and last night, but the veteran talked him out of it for the Sacramento game. In this one, Tony Allen was just what Doc ordered.</p> And it’s fair to say he is still not firing on all cylinders as he comes back from the ACL surgery. His inconsistency led Rivers to say flatly two weeks ago that Allen simply had to play better, but the coach is hoping he’ll be close to normal by the new year.</p> “We’ve been talking about it,” said Rivers. “And I still think the January date . . . it’s no date, but you can still see him that one time when he had a drive and I thought clearly he could have gone with power. But he just didn’t go with the power that I know he has. Later he did it and got a three-point play, so it’s just a mental thing. You don’t know on each drive when he’s going to do it and when he’s not going to do it. I think the more he plays and the more he gets comfortable, the more he’ll do it.”</p> But Tony Allen needs to always be comfortable with the fact that defense will be the foundation of his career - the aspect of his game that shows up every night.</p> </div></p>
TA has really impressed me with his progression. I thought it would be February before he'd show any real signs of "I'm back." It's only December and he is already playing excellent defense and skying for tip-ins. I love it. I can't wait to see how he plays 2 or 3 months from now. If he can really return to form, or at least close to it, by the playoffs - that'd be a HUGE boost for our team. It's actually pretty scary to think about. A healthy Tony Allen is a top 5 backup guard in the league and one of the better on-ball defenders in the Eastern Conference. Add that to James Posey, Eddie House, and Big Baby - our bench is a lot better than what it even is now (and that's saying something, the bench has been fantastic).</p>
