For Tony Allen, the wait is over

Beyond the banner, beyond the emotional ceremonies and the symbolic rings, there was a basketball game. And the moment the ball went up, the moment Kevin Garnett once again airmailed his first shot of the season, the Celtics officially put last year behind them.

We’re willing to bet that no one was happier than Tony Allen.

Winners of 82 games last season – 66 in the regular season, another 16 in the playoffs – the Celtics began defense of their 17th NBA title last night with a 90-85 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers at the TD Banknorth Garden. And so continued the NBA edition of the extreme home makeover. Before acquiring Kevin Garnett from the Minnesota Timberwolves prior to last season, the Celtics had roughly 7,000 season-ticket holders; last year, the number jumped to about 12,000; this year, the number climbed to 14,500 before the Celtics instituted their very own cap, meaning the large majority of last night’s sellout crowd of 18,624 will remain in its seats for the foreseeable future.

And so, the team that waited 22 years for another world title now has – get this – a waiting list.

Allen, in particular, knows about waiting, particularly after a 2007-08 campaign during which he was unceremoniously bumped from his perch. Two years ago, just as the Celtics were embarking on a franchise-record 18-game losing streak, Allen was playing the best basketball of his career. But in the midst of a 14-game stretch during which he averaged 18.9 points per game, Allen blew out his left knee, adding further indignity to a season that was probably doomed, anyway. With Paul Pierce out, too, a two-game Celtics losing streak mushroomed to a whopping 18, putting into motion the events that have delivered the Celtics to where they are today.

In the basketball Big Dig that followed, Allen became a casualty of the reconstruction. The Celtics added Garnett and, among others, the unshakable James Posey, the latter of whom all but knocked Allen to the end of the bench. Posey was counted upon to deliver offense to the second unit. He was entrusted with the role of defensive stopper. Although Allen showed flashes of his former self, he was all but bounced from the building despite being one of the few holdovers from the Al Jefferson Era.

Allen lost minutes, his confidence, his game.

Most anyone would have.

"I think last year, for Tony, was very difficult," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said after an aggressive Allen scored 11 points last night. "No. 1, it’s proven that when he plays more minutes he’s a better player. No. 2, he was coming back from an injury. It was almost set up for him to struggle last year. Now that he’s getting playing time, I think he’ll be fine."

For all that they accomplished last season, for all the distance they already have traveled, we all know what the biggest concerns are for this team as they attempt to become the first Celtics club to repeat since 1969. First, the they need to stay healthy. Second, they need to replace Posey. The second of those responsibilities will rest largely with Allen, at least to start, and it really is up to him as to whether the Celtics must renew the search.

Precisely what Allen can give the Celtics defensively still remains to be seen – he was arguably their best 1-on-1 defender before his knee injury – but his offensive game certainly seems on the way back. Allen made 4 of 9 field goals against the Cavs, repeatedly taking the ball to the basket; while he lacks Posey’s 3-point range, he makes up for it by going to the basket. Last night, no sequence better demonstrated Rivers’s trust in Allen than the coach’s decision to call an isolation play for him midway through the fourth quarter with the Celtics holding a 76-70 lead.

Looking as quick and powerful as he has in a long, long time, Allen juked, jerked and dropped a short fall-away jumper in the face of his defender, a guy named LeBron James.

"We told him he’s our offensive guy in the second unit. We told him that," Rivers said. "In the second half, I thought he [showed more patience]. We’re confident with Tony. We called that [isolation] with LeBron guarding him. And I don’t care who’s guarding Tony Allen, he’s tough to guard off the dribble."

For Allen, of course, all of this is a welcome development, particularly after he scored just 20 points in the entire playoffs last spring. In 11 of the Celtics’ 26 postseason games, Allen did not play at all. But in the opener of the 2008-09 campaign, on the night the Celtics officially put the rubber back on the road, Allen played 17 minutes and, along with Leon Powe, gave the team an enormous lift from the bench amid lackluster performances from Garnett (11 points, six rebounds) and Ray Allen (eight points on 2-for-9 shooting).

And when Allen was done, when Rivers turned the game back over to his starters for the final minutes of a season-opening win, Allen took his place on the Boston bench like a man thrilled to be back in the building, like a man happy to have his seat back, like a man who has no intention of giving it up.

Like a man who just got off the waiting list.