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The Ticker
17 hours ago

Comments Deleting?

We apologize if your comments are being deleted (provided that they are not offensive). We are looking into why this is happening. We also want to apologize for the lack of a game thread for last night’s game.  We had a premonition that the Celtics would play that poorly and thought if we pretended the [...]

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5 days ago

5 Questions With Greg Monroe

I talked with Detroit star forward Greg Monroe prior to the Celtics-Pistons game on Wednesday night.  Here is what the 2nd year big man out of Georgetown, who is averaging 16.4 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists per game had to say. 1. Just your 2nd year in the league, but playing so well, were you disappointed [...]

3
5 days ago

Call for Responses: 5-on-5

Readers! Last week’s responses to the 5-on-5 questions were really, really great. We had way more qualified answers than we were able to use. So we’re going to keep doing it! FOREVER. Here are this week’s questions: 1. Are you concerned about Rondo’s media boycott this week? 2. The trade deadline is less than a [...]

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8 days ago

5 Questions With Ronnie Brewer

I talked with Chicago starting guard Ronnie Brewer prior to the Celtics-Bulls game on Sunday.  Here is what the 6th year man out of Arkansas who is averaging 7.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2.1 assists had to say. 1. You guys have a lot of the same players back from last year’s team which was [...]

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11 days ago

5 Questions With Josh McRoberts

I talked to Los Angeles back up big man Josh McRoberts prior to the Celtics-Lakers game Thursday night at the Garden.  Here is what the former Duke Blue Devil, who is averaging 2.9 points and 3.8 rebounds in his first year in LA, had to say. 1. How have you guys been able to deal [...]

2
11 days ago

5-on-5: Predicting All-Star Reserves

I was a panelist on the 5-on-5 today at ESPN, choosing reserves for the Eastern and Western Conference all-star teams. I took two Celtics, as noted below. Hit the link to read the rest. 1. Which East and West point guards should be chosen as All-Star reserves? Ryan DeGama, CelticsHub: East: Deron Williams, Rajon Rondo [...]

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TA is Flying…

Boston.com

…under the radar.

Celtics fans are used to seeing Tony Allen soar through the air only throw down a thunderous dunk or snatch a rebound away from an opposing team’s big.  Just look at the tape of the last two games and you will see what I am talking about- or just ask Antawn Jamison.

This, however, is just one way Tony Allen is flying these days.  He is also flying under the radar when it comes to the impending Free Agency chatter.  On May 14th, Chard Ford updated his running list of notable Free Agents (ESPN Insider only) and there was only one notable “Allen” listed.  This is, of course, TA’s back-court mate Ray Allen and Ray is rightfully listed in the in the top ten overall (he’s listed one spot behind Shaquille O’Neal which is mind-blowing but that will be a conversation for another day).

This is one of those situations where I wish writers would interview players on other’s value in the league.  I would bet the farm Dwyane Wade and LeBron James (and hopefully soon, Jameer Nelson- but that is yet another conversation for another day) would have more than a few things to say about Tony Allen’s value on the basketball court.

Last year, some team’s put a premium on limited offensive players that are stellar defensively.  Aaron Afflalo and Thabo Sefolosha were both year-long starters for the Nuggets and Thunder respectively, while Dahntay Jones got a pretty nice contract from the Pacers.

According to John Hollinger’s dark magic (Insider only), Tony Allen has the 7th best statistical value of all playoff shooting guards- curiously, one spot ahead of Ray Allen.  He is also 9th on the list of all shooting guards in Value Added and is also the first non-starting shooting guard on the list ahead of guys like Kirk Hinrich, Jamal Crawford, and J.R. Smith.  That is to be expected though, since those guys are all golfing while TA is resting his knees up for Game 2. 

These few stats are also merely just the quantifiable contributions TA is responsible for during these playoffs.  They do not take into account all of the times he has run up the side of the court as Rondo pushes the ball, forcing the defense to stay true or pay the price.  Or the amount of times TA forces the other team’s superstar to give up the ball rather than expend all that energy trying to get by him. 

Saying any of this is not meant to lobby for a starting position or to be mentioned with the heavy hitters hitting free agency this offseason.  I am just trying to give credit where credit is due.  Tony Allen has been an indispensable part of the Celtics postseason roster and it will most likely be reflected in his Free Agent value.

It would behoove the Celtics to exercise their Early Bird Rights on TA for a team like the Pacers snaps him up.

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