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What was Tony Allen thinking when he went for the dunk? The dunk that happened after the whistle blew. The dunk that resulted in him landing awkwardly and tearing both his ACL and MCL and ending the season for one of the biggest surprises in the Celtics rotation.
When I got the call from Allen to talk videogames (he was playing NBA Live online in the Xbox/adidas Game On program), I had to put thoughts of polygons and turbo on hold until I asked about the play that pretty much summed up the Celtics season.
The dunk.
"Actually, I didn't even know how bad I was hurt when it first happened," Allen tells me over the phone from the Celtics practice facility as he was firing up his Xbox 360. "I knew I was hurt, but once I got to the back I just couldn't believe it and I was trying to stay strong. I was walking on it, I was walking and walking and I was like 'I'm good', but then all of a sudden I collapsed because I couldn't walk no more. It was so painful. I was hurting real bad."
But on the play, didn't he hear the whistle?
"I heard it, but I was just in a groove. I had like 19 points, and I always look at the scoreboard when I'm in the huddle, and I already had 19 points, like 6 rebounds and 4 steals. We was down like 13 and then cut the lead down to about 4 or something. I knew I was about to get like 30 points and try to get us a win, and it was just F'd up. A freak injury. Normally, everybody does that in the NBA. I watch games now and I see a lot of people continue to the rim after the whistle. Unfortunately, I got the freak injury."
An injury that ended the season for one of the young players the Celtics were banking on to replace the injured Paul Pierce.
Allen says his rehab is going ahead of schedule, though, and is looking forward to next season.
"I come in about 9:30 AM and after icing and the massage and strength and conditioning, I don't leave the gym until 1:30, 1:45 PM," Allen says, detailing his desire to get back on the court. In fact, Allen says being out and watching games from the bench will actually make him a smarter player when he returns. "I put myself in those situations in my mind and I just think what I could have possibly done better than one of my teammates did in the same situation. I just try to store that information so the next time the opportunity happens to me, I know how to take advantage of that situation."
Until then, Allen hopes to get his head in the game playing NBA Live on the 360, although he admitted to me before the event that this was actually the first time he's ever played.
Ever?
"Ever," he laughs. "I'm testing the waters for the first time, but I'm so competitive, I'll catch on quick."
And with the headset already on, Allen was ready to let the trash talking begin.
"I'm full of that," Allen says as he shares his favorite quote from mouthing off in the NBA. "Too easy. You say that to somebody, that makes them real mad."
Allen says that a lot of his Celtic teammates are into playing games on the road, "especially when we go to those down cities like Utah, Milwaukee, and Portland", and Allen thinks he'll be joining them next season. "This might be a start. These games get addictive. My brother and little cousins will be on there playing games from eight o'clock in the evening until like four in the morning. They'll never go to sleep. I've got to watch myself so I don't get that hooked. Because in playing this game, I can take the experiences I've had in basketball and see the floor so much better. I look at my coach and he draws up plays every day. I'm going to find one play that works and use it to the fullest."
And you know that play will be run to his favorite scorer in the game, himself.
"Shoot all the balls with me. You'll probably get to the Eastern Conference Finals," Allen laughs as he talks about how to turn the Celtics into winners in Live. In real life, he's hoping for one thing: "If it was left up to me, I'd pick the 'Shadow of Bill Russell', Oden. It's really out of my hands, but in my opinion, that's who I'd pick."
High praise from the shooter who sports a Mitchell and Ness Russell throwback in memory of the team's championships and a young player who is just starting to find his groove in the NBA. "When I was averaging like 22 and 7, I saw a lot of my jerseys out there," Allen says. "It makes you go ten times harder so maybe the next game you see ten more jerseys in the stands. I can't wait to get back out on the court."
Until then, it's Xbox basketball for Allen. "You might want to plug your ears when we play," Allen says about all the junk he's going to talk.
Too easy.
And for Allen, he hopes to be saying that just as much in the coming season.
Hogan, HBK, Bret vs. Owen, and a triple threat for the ages.