Boston Celtics Legend’s Heartfelt Message to Tony Allen
A little over a week ago, the Memphis Grizzlies retired the jersey of one of its most beloved franchise players.
Tony Allen may have never won an NBA championship with the Grizzlies, but his style of play has endeared him to Memphis fans forever. So much so, that he even had his jersey retired with the team.
Among those who came to support Allen was his former championship teammate with the Boston Celtics, Paul Pierce. Allen won a championship with Pierce as a member of the Boston Celtics in 2008.
“That’s my brother, like I said. I saw his first Summer League game, I was able to win with him,” Pierce said. “The day he signed here I was sad. I was sad he left. Then I thought about it, and I was like, ‘You know what, it was time for him to go.’ It was time for him to get up from under us and spread his wings.”
In Pierce’s eyes, Allen would not have been able to become the player he became in Memphis if he stayed in Boston.
“He was able to grow here into the player he probably wouldn’t have been able to become in Boston,” Pierce said. “That’s why I’m glad he came, he spread his wings, he made his niche, and grew something here to where they can relate to and hold onto and grasp to… He’ll always be remembered, he’ll always be respected in this community.”
Tony Allen will likely go down as the most underrated defender in NBA history. However, he’ll always be properly rated among his peers.
Grizzlies Star To Miss Remainder of NBA Season
With the 2025 NBA playoffs looming, the Memphis Grizzlies have revealed that they will be without a critical contributor for the remainder of the year.
Oft-injured Grizzlies power forward/center Brandon Clarke has been ruled out for the rest of the season due to a high-grade PCL sprain in his right knee, per Marc J. Spears of Andscape/ESPN.
This is a huge blow for Memphis’ frontcourt depth as the playoffs loom, although they’ve been down this road before with Clarke.
Sporting a 43-28 record on the 2024-25 season, Memphis currently occupies the No. 5 seed in the competitive Western Conference.
But that’s hardly secure, especially without Clarke. The Nos. 2 through 8 seeds in the West are only separated by 5.5 games. The second-seeded Houston Rockets boast a 46-25 record and a tenuous hold on the second seed in the conference. They’re just three games ahead of Memphis. The Grizzlies are a scant 2.5 games up on the 40-30 L.A. Clippers and 41-31 Minnesota Timberwolves.
Out West, the margin for error is razor-thin. The absence of Clarke could send the Grizzlies straight to the play-in tournament if they’re not careful.
The 6-foot-8 big man suffered a season-ending left Achilles tear late into Memphis’ 2022-23 campaign, a critical blow to the team that no doubt helped contribute to its first-round playoff upset as the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. The Grizzlies fell to the No. 7-seeded Los Angeles Lakers, then led by All-Stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, in six games.
Clarke had inked a four-season, $52 million rookie contract extension heading into that season. He returned extremely late into Memphis’ injury-riddled 2023-24 run, playing in just six healthy contests and starting one.
A solid-if-undersized two-way pro, Clarke has struggled with health over the years. He has appeared in less than 60 games in four of his six pro seasons and now has suffered two major year-ending injuries.
In his 64 healthy contests this season (18 starts), Clarke averaged 8.3 points on 62.1 percent shooting from the field and 70.1 percent shooting from the charity stripe, 5.1 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.8 steals ,and 0.6 blocks a night.
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