Memphis Grizzlies: Bringing Tony Allen Back Was Huge
By John Hugar
Re-signing Tony Allen was a big move for the Memphis Grizzlies. Photo Credit: Mark Runyon, Basketball Schedule
The Memphis Grizzlies aren’t one of the teams that will be making a great deal of noise during the epic head rush that is NBA free agency. They already have the team they want with their star players firmly in place. With that said, there was one task they absolutely had to take care of during the 2013 free agency period: Re-signing Tony Allen. They handled that on Friday, signing Allen to a four-year, $16 million dollar deal and ensuring he would be part of the team’s next big playoff push. Allen is one of the best defenders in the league and retaining his services was a very smart move for the Grizzlies.
When thinking about Allen’s value, consider the Houston Rockets, who made the biggest splash of the summer by signing Dwight Howard last weekend. Having Allen around means the Grizzlies have an answer for each of the Rockets’ All-Star players. Marc Gasol wreaks havoc against Dwight in the post, while Allen takes down James Harden on the perimeter. Bringing Allen back means the Grizzlies match better against the Rockets than any other team in the Western Conference. With the Harden-Howard duo in place, the Rockets will likely be a popular pick to come out of the West next season, but with Allen around to make Harden’s life miserable, the Grizzlies may be the scariest team standing in their way.
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But having a weapon to get them past Houston isn’t the only reason the Grizzlies needed to keep Allen or even the biggest one. The fact is, he’s the heart and soul of the team. He’s the biggest reason for the grit-and-grind identity that has defined this team and its ridiculously tough defense for the past three years. His first season with the Grizzlies was 2010-11, which was also the first time that the core group of players reached the postseason. Zach Randolph turned them into a respectable team the year before, but it was the arrival of Allen that put them over the edge. The Grizzlies quickly became one of the most fearsome teams in the league and while they only made the playoffs as an eighth seed, they pulled off a stunning upset of the San Antonio Spurs, during which they ran them ragged for six games. Allen isn’t thought of as one of the elite players on the Grizzlies, but he’s essential to what they do and had they let him go, their future would have been in serious jeopardy.
With Allen remaining in the fold, the Grizzlies will have once again have one of the toughest defenses in the NBA and they should be a threat in the postseason once again. In the Grizzlies’ first round series against the Los Angeles Clippers, Jamal Crawford was rendered practically irrelevant when Allen was put on him. That might not happen to a superstar like Harden, but the fact still remains he’s an extremely difficult player to deal with. The Clippers, Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder will likely be favored ahead of the Grizzlies going into this season, but with No. 9 back on board for Memphis, they will all have their work cut out for them.