The Morning Walkthrough: Ray Allen closing in on exclusive 20,000 point club

The Celtics have gotten rid of their morning walkthrough, but that doesn't mean we have to.  Here are a few Celtics links, and maybe even an NBA link or two, to help wake you up and get you focused for the day.

Gary Washburn, Boston Globe - There were doubts outside the organization as to whether Allen would be the same player following the surgeries.  One NBA title and 3,032 points later, Allen is on the verge of an exclusive club. Of the 36 players who have reached 20,000 points in the NBA/ABA, 26 are in the Hall of Fame, and seven of the other 10 are not yet eligible for induction.  Allen, who is in his 14th NBA season, attended September’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Springfield, soaking in the atmosphere and thinking of the possibility of his inclusion someday.  “It’s one of those moments where you just always feel vindication for everything you’ve ever done,’’ he said. “All the people that said no you can’t or put something negative in your life and you turned around and made it positive. It’s always something that’s been reiterated to me that I have always been on the right path.

Red's Army - The assist came on a play where Tony has, in the past, made a bad decision.  Instead of forcing a shot or putting his head down and either dribbling it off his foot or bowling someone over, he made the extra pass.  Am I reaching a bit to praise Tony Allen?  Probably.  Am I trying to convince myself that he might be able to hold the fort for the next two months until Marquis Daniels comes back?  Maybe.  Am I being lazy by resorting to the "ask your self a question and then answer it" cliche so you can get to your main point.  Definitely.

Jeff Clark, CelticsBlog - You don't replace Marquis with one player because this year's edition of the Celtics is build a lot like a Rubik's Cube.  To move one piece, you have to move two others with it.  Then you might have to move several more pieces around before you finally get the desired result (and you are still far from being done).  Headed into the offseason, the Celtics had 3 priorities.  Get help in the frontcourt, get a backup wing, and bring in someone to help with bringing the ball up court.  Sheed took care of the first priority and Daniels was supposed to take care of the next two.  Now we've got some pieces to shift around.

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald -  Coach Doc Rivers will now be hard-pressed to duplicate the contributions of one of the most uniquely talented players in his lineup.  The second unit had come to thrive on Daniels’ playmaking, which often found him directing the offense in Rondo’s absence.  As his play deteriorated from the injury, the second unit clearly suffered, according to the Celtics coach.  “I think it’s affected Eddie (House), because earlier in the year, and especially in preseason, Eddie was getting great shots off of Marquis passes,” Rivers said Tuesday night. “Now (Daniels) doesn’t have the ability to pass and I think that affects Eddie.”

Tom Halzack, Celtics Central - With 13 symphonic assists, the Bucks game is as good an example as you will find to see how far Rondo has come. And he added his scoring at the most important time, with a few made jump shots, and made foul shots, both of which have been absent for most of the season.  That it happened against a rookie point guard and a team that isn’t known for strong inside players, I’ll grant you.  But without a special defensive strategy devised to just to stop Rondo, he will get into the interior defenses of any team. Yes, he will have some trouble against talented interior length. The good thing is that Rajon isn’t the only willing passer on the team.  The team relies more and more on Rajon Rondo’s ability to conduct the offense. But Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett are all good facilitators in the offense, too.  It’s an ubuntu world.