By John McMullen
After Philadelphia extended its first round playoff series with heavily-favored Miami on Easter Sunday, Sixers coach Doug Collins took some time to talk about his unheralded guard, Lou Williams, who stunned the star-studded Heat by dropping a 27-foot bomb over Dwyane Wade with just 8.1 seconds left.
"He's our personality. He's our juice. He's our voice," Collins said. "He's the guy everybody on our team rallies around."
That might be a bit of a surprise to people outside Philly who tend the paint the introverted Andre Iguodala or veteran forward Elton Brand as the Sixers leader.
Every playoff team has a player like Williams -- glue guys that are not necessarily stars but are invaluable to their clubs. Some do it with offense like Atlanta's Jamal Crawford, some do it with defense like Miami's Joel Anthony, and some contribute their skills in a few different ways like Williams, who combines his explosive offensive skills with a laid-back leadership style.
Few, however, have had more impact on their respective teams as Memphis' Tony Allen.
Always a dogged defender, Allen has blossomed into one of the NBA's best this year on Beale Street. The former Celtics swingman recently finished fourth in the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year voting and was the top perimeter player named, edging out the Suns' Grant Hill and Iguodala.
When the Grizz lost their top all-around player, Rudy Gay, to a dislocated shoulder in mid-February, must thought the team would falter and finish out of the playoff hunt but Allen took the minutes and turned Memphis into a team that grinds on you, possession after possession.
In fact, Allen even developed a mantra that the Volunteer State has embraced with open arms: "All heart. Grit, grind."
Perhaps the most surprising element of Allen's tenure in Memphis, however, is the leadership he has brought to the franchise. The Chicago native was once labeled a troublemaker when he was in Boston and the NBA was actually forced to call in the Windy City police to protect the Celtics at a postseason game in 2009 after a known thug threatened Allen's life.
Two years later, the Oklahoma State product has remade his reputation and become a model citizen, helping Memphis reach milestones its never touched in the past.
If the Grizzlies had a bucket list, you can bet they would be checking things off at a feverish pace. The upstart Grizz have already won the first postseason game in franchise history and followed that up with their first ever playoff win at home. Now, Memphis hopes to move on and take its first postseason series against the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs. The Grizzlies lead San Antonio, 2-1, heading into Monday's Game 4.
The Spurs certainly never had much of a rivalry with the Grizzlies prior to this postseason. Heck, you can make a solid argument that Memphis has never caught anyone's attention since the franchise was 0-12 in the postseason before the 2010-11 playoffs.
San Antonio, meanwhile, is NBA royalty and has reached the postseason every year since the 1997-98 campaign, when Tim Duncan was a rookie out of Wake Forest. The Spurs have amassed four NBA titles over that stretch and figured to be in the running for yet another Larry O'Brien trophy after finishing this season with a Western Conference-best 62-20 mark.
Win, lose or draw, Allen has made the mighty Spurs take notice of the Grizzlies. The swingman, who has plenty of playoff experience with Boston, has also taken aim at San Antonio star Manu Ginobili, who has been playing with a sprained right (non-shooting) elbow.
"He ain't playing like his arm is hurt," Allen said when asked about Ginobili. "I think that's all for the birds right there. I don't think nothing is wrong with him."
"Who ain't bruised up around this time of year?" Allen continued. "Everybody got aches and bruises right now. Since he's (Ginobili) got the high profile name, everybody puts emphasis on what's wrong with him. I don't go to the media saying what's wrong with me. I don't go to my P.R. guy and say put this out. I just fight through."
That kind of toughness and swagger has ignited Allen's teammates. Ginobili has averaged 20.0 points in the last two games of the series after missing Game 1 but Allen has been in his hip pocket, making him work, throughout.
In Saturday's pivotal Game 3 in Memphis, San Antonio had about six seconds left to set up a final shot down three, 91-88, but Ginobili dribbled into a pair of defenders on the right side and got stuck as time ran out.
Usually, it's Allen checking Ginobili but this time it was Marc Gasol and Mike Conley, two players not exactly known for their defensive prowess. In the guts of the game, however, they took on Allen's mindset and were able to stop one of the craftiest players of the game.
Like all good leaders, Allen had rubbed off when it mattered most.
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