Tony Allen responsible for making the Memphis Grizzlies better – Part 2
Tony Allen came to realize that some of his off-court antics were giving him a bad name in the league, and the image he was portraying was not what he had envisioned for himself.
“I was immature coming into the league, and I definitely had the wrong group of guys around me growing up,” he said. “I found out fast that the path I was going on wasn’t going to keep me in the league very long”
He underwent a reconstructive knee surgery on ligaments in his knee and missed a good share of games in the 2007-08 season.
After resigning a $5 million, two-year contract with Boston in 2008, Tony Allen finally started his ascent in the league. It was during this second stint with the Celtics that Allen finally made his mark.
“I got wiser, put my time in the gym and tried to build away from that negative image around me. People see me as a competitor now, a winner.”
And it is that sort of winning attitude that Allen brings to the Memphis Grizzlies. Zach Randolph and Tony Allen believe that they have a strong chance of putting up a good performance in the post-season this time.
The eighth-seeded Grizzlies have been matched-up with the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference first-round playoff series. Contrary to the usual 1 – 8 seed matchup, Memphis possesses the fire-power to outplay the Spurs on any given day.
"They know they have a shot," Manu Ginobili said, "They are young and very physical and athletic, and we are not precisely that… We have to do better with our brains."
The teams played each other four times during the regular season, splitting the wins. Home-court advantage played a major role in the series, as both teams came out with wins at home.
San Antonio won the first meeting with a 112 – 106 overtime win at the AT & T Center on December 18, 2010. The Grizzlies outplayed the Spurs in the final quarter to force an extra period but they were unable to handle the Spurs in OT and went down. Tony
Parker exploded for 37 points on the night, while Allen started the game in place of the suspended Rudy g*y to put up 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting.
The Spurs took the second game as well with a 95 – 88 victory at home, as Manu Ginobili poured in a game high 35 points.
The third match-up of the season between the two was scheduled at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, as the Grizzlies put in a strong showing at home to come out on top and win it with a 109 – 93 score line. Tony Allen provided the spark with 20 points as he went
perfect from the free-throw stripe and only missed one of his nine shot attempts from the field.
The final game between the two clubs was played in Memphis, as the Grizzlies knocked off a Spurs team that was missing centerpiece Tim Duncan with a 111 – 104 win. Tony Allen was hot from the floor once again as he put up 23 points on 9-of-10 shooting, while
disrupting the Spurs offense by keeping his hands active. He came up with his five steals in that game.
The Grizzlies are quite adept at their style of play which involves playing tough gritty defense and a constant diet of scoring opportunities close to the rim. During their season series, Memphis outscored San Antonio with a whopping 222 – 154 disparity
in points-in-the-paint.
The Spurs will certainly have to bring their A-game if they wish to down the surging Grizzlies in the first round and make another run to the NBA Finals.
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