Memphis Grizzlies: What Absence of Tony Allen Means for Playoff Run
By Mark Krebs
News broke yesterday afternoon that the Grindfather Tony Allen is out indefinitely with a calf injury.
For the Memphis Grizzlies, it always seems like there’s a significant injury to a key player every year during the playoffs. This year is no different. Now, it’s the Grindfather Tony Allen, who’s out with a calf injury.
The Grizzlies say guard Tony Allen has a strain of the right calf muscle and is out indefinitely.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) April 13, 2017
How This Effect The Grizzlies On Their Playoff Run
As much as this hurts to admit, this makes a deep playoff run even less likely. Allen is by far the best perimeter defender on the team – and easily top five in the league.
It’s obvious who Tony would’ve been guarding in this series: MVP candidate Kawhi Leonard. Without Allen, the Grizzlies defense will have to be perfect, communicating with one another and playing on a string. If not, they will have a difficult time guarding the machine that’s Kawhi Leonard.
On the other side of the ball, there’s still a negative impact of Allen’s absence. While Tony can be a liability on offense at times with his lack of shooting, he makes up for it with his hustle. Those moments where he’s soaring in for offensive rebounds and slashing to the basket that have everyone fan saying, “no no no don’t do tha…. oh… he made it” is sometimes the driving force for this team.
Worst of all, the Memphis Grizzlies lose the mental edge that Tony brings to the team. He leads by example with his “1st Team All-Defense” mentality and ignites a fire under the team to give it all they’ve got. The Memphis Grizzlies must bring that same mentality without their morale captain. If not, the Spurs will capitalize on it and devour them.
Next: Present and Future State of the Shooting Guard Position
Possible Replacement
While it’s impossible to replicate what the Grindfather brings to the team, you can try to fill the void with the next closest thing. One player that stands out is Wayne Selden. The last time the Grizzlies played in San Antonio, Selden did a remarkable job guarding Leonard and making clutch baskets on offense. Memphis Grizzlies need Wayne and the rest of their wings to rise to the occasion to fill in for the Grindfather.