Tony Allen brings defensive strength and experience to Grizzlies roster

You could see the excitement in Tony Allen’s face in the Grizzlies’ locker room on Friday, July 23 when he made his first official appearance as a member of the Memphis Grizzlies.

“It feels great to be a Grizzly,” said Allen. “It is a good opportunity and I am looking forward to taking advantage of it. I feel like Memphis is the place to be.”

The 6-4, 213-pound, guard comes to Grizz Nation after spending the first six seasons of his career with the Boston Celtics. There will be high hopes for this NBA Finals veteran. His playoff experience and defensive skills will bring a new element of intensity to the court that the Grizzlies need.

The Grizzlies are adding an aggressive swingman to the roster who is a defensive specialist. Allen has made his mark as an explosive defender off the bench for the Celtics and will continue to play this key role here with the Grizzlies. Allen was a key defensive stopper for the 2009-10 Eastern Conference Champion Celtics, and in the Finals showed that he can lock down on superstars like Lebron James and Kobe Bryant. He ranks in the Top 25 in Celtics history with 351 steals and 117 blocks.

“I just want to be known as a competitor and a guy that can help win ball games,” said Allen. “I want to be a guy that is going to do all the dirty work and give you a 110% on good nights and bad nights.”

The Grizzlies, who were spectacular on offense, but struggled with defense (24th in the league standings), can use Allen’s skills to their advantage. Allen, coming from the Celtics who were ranked 5th overall defensively in the league, immediately becomes the team’s best defender, and by adding him to the interior defensive presence of Hasheem Thabeet, the Grizzlies’ 7-3 shot- blocker, the defensive department can do nothing but improve for the Grizzlies.

“Obviously I was recruited for that (defensive) role and I don’t mind embracing that role, but there is more to my game, let’s not get this twisted,” said Allen. “I will do whatever I have to do to win ball games. Whether that is just passing out Gatorades, flashing towels or giving somebody a high five, I am willing to do that. I am looking forward to this season.”

Not only is Allen is going to be an important defensive addition, he also has the ability to handle the point guard duties. The Grizzlies at this point will enter the 2010-11 season without a back-up point guard. Even though there will be help coming from rookie Greivis Vasquez and veteran O.J. Mayo, who participated in summer league at point guard, Allen can pick up the slack as well and has the skills and experience to carry the team at point guard.

Injuries have held Allen back in the past, but he is fully recovered now. Allen tore his ACL and MCL coming down hard after an attempted dunk in 2007. He has also had other knee problems and ankle injuries. These injuries decreased his playing time back in Boston, but now fully recovered Allen will have a fresh injury-free start with the Grizzlies.

“I kind of feel like I am a rookie again and that I have something to prove,” said Allen. “I am just going to go out there all and there is no greater club to do it with than a young club. Everybody is young and talented here; right now it is just going to take gritting and grinding to get over the hump.”

Allen is not going to be a new face to all of Grizz Nation. He was the 25th overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft by the Celtics when Grizzlies’ general manager Chris Wallace was there. Wallace thinks that his experiences will help strengthen the young Grizzlies.

“He filled a variety of positions,” said Wallace. “He played point guard, some off guard and was a defensive stopper in the playoffs. He brought toughness and athleticism to a team; he is a guy that can really attack the basket. He has been in the game for six years and has been in the biggest stage possible in the Finals on a championship team and we think that that experience will be very beneficial to our young group.”

Allen comes to Memphis posting career averages of 7.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.04 steals in 18.4 minutes in 336 games. Starting in 8 of his 54 regular season games in the 2009-10 season, Allen averaged 6.1 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.09 steals in 16.5 minutes. While having a .510 shooting average from the field, Allen is known for his defensive skills on the court.

A player like Allen proves that defense does win championships. With one of the top defensive players in the league adding to the strong talent the roster already has, there are only good things to come from this 2010-11 Grizzlies squad.