Tony Allen will be ready to jump in His left knee healthy again, Celtics guard Tony Allen is looking to improve by leaps and bounds next season. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>The Celtics have lost James Posey but gained a new and improved Tony Allen. Allen is expected to return at full strength next season, compensating for the loss of Posey, who last week signed with New Orleans. At least, that is how general manager Danny Ainge is approaching the situation. Allen missed most of the 2006-07 season with a left knee injury and struggled to recover last season. "By the end of the year, he turned the corner," Ainge said after announcing Allen's signing yesterday, "and Doc [Rivers] and I think he will have a breakout year this year." Allen preferred to stay in Boston - he started his NBA career with the Celtics in 2004 - partly because other teams remained skeptical about his recovery, partly because of the Celtics' support. Allen cited strength and conditioning coach Bryan Doo and masseur Vlad Shulman, saying he "didn't want to leave those guys." "It was very frustrating," Allen said of rehabilitating his knee. "It took a lot of patience and waiting. Some days were better than others. Some days I felt like I could jump over the rim and some days I felt like I couldn't even get to the rim." Allen was also uncertain of the amount of playing time he would get with other teams; Posey averaged more than 24 minutes per game last season. "There are going to be a lot of opportunities to play and I want to play," Allen said. "I'm looking forward to it. I'm fortunate to have a contract with the Celtics and I want to take advantage of it. "I learned a lot from [Posey]. Game preparation, how you sit down and scout a player during practice, how you defend a player during practice. I just learned a lot from him and hope I can carry on. I look at my strengths and I just want to do what the coach wants. I'm willing to do that, to give my talent to the organization." But Allen is not expected to hang around the 3-point line, zeroing in on jumpers. "He's a slasher and attacks the rim. [Posey] is a spot-up shooter and he defends the bigger guys a little better than Tony," Ainge said. "But Tony moves his feet and fights through screens better than Posey and he can play a little point. When [Rajon Rondo] went down, he scored 16 points in the first half against LA and we won a big game on the road. We gain things - he gets to the rim and gets to the free throw line more than Pose. We'll miss Posey's experience and 3-point shooting, but Tony is a better defender than Posey. "He has been our best perimeter defender the last few years, when he got a chance to play. He's a guy the coaches and his teammates trust as a perimeter defender. He is also one of the toughest guys we have on the team, he's an instigator physically. He's an aggressive, attacking offensive player we really didn't have. "We feel we are adding our team's best defensive player to the team this year. He didn't contribute as much as he could because of the knee injury. When [Allen] had a chance to play significant minutes last year - actually the last few years - he played really well. He struggled in short-minute roles. We were 9-2 when he started. Our defense was better when he was on the court. In plus-minus we were plus-31 with Tony on the court as a starter. He's healthy now. He came to training camp last year in a leg brace and he was never 100 percent confident with his knee." Ainge's next order of business will be to settle the contract situations of Rivers and assistants Kevin Eastman, Armond Hill, Mike Longabardi, Clifford Ray, and Tom Thibodeau. Ainge said the entire coaching staff is expected to return.</div>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jacoby_Ellsbury @ Jul 24 2008, 10:37 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Well he better be ready to jump in. Or we have a major problem.</div> He will be Ortiz. (I like calling you that) haha
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jacoby_Ellsbury @ Jul 26 2008, 09:11 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Another board I post on mentioned that Damien Wilkins is unhappy in OKC. I wouldn't mind having him.</div> No thanks. His shot selection is awful, and he doesn't play within the flow of the offense.
Allen a better defender than Posey?? who's Ainge trying to convince of that? Allen can be good maybe very good, but Posey does everything a little better defensively IMO.
A name that just came to me is Desmond Mason. Not suggesting that the Bucks are trying to trade him, but I think he could be a nice addition.
