In the hours leading up to the Memphis Grizzlies' Game 1 playoff matchup with the league's top overall seed, the Utah Jazz, Tony Allen sent his protégé De'Anthony Melton a text.
"I got a good feeling about tonight," he told the young guard.
Allen should know. The former Grit-n-Grind star has immersed himself in all things Grizzlies, serving as the director of player development for the team's G League Memphis Hustle since last January in addition to serving as a team ambassador representing the parent club in the community. Yet the duty he treasures most is one gifted to him by head coach Taylor Jenkins, who asked the former six-time All-Defense selection to mentor young players, including Melton, on the value of defensive excellence.
If the play-in tournament had not existed, Memphis would be home watching playoff action as the No. 9 seed in the West. But a thrilling win over Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors advanced them as decided underdogs against the Jazz. Even before they upended Utah in Game 1, 112-109, Allen was bullish on his team because of their speed, quickness, cohesiveness and fearlessness.
"We play with a carefree spirit," Allen says. "Our mindset was 'seek and destroy.' Our swagger was up. Those guys aren't afraid of nobody."
Allen agreed to join ESPN to watch and break down Game 2 of the Jazz-Grizzlies series. He predicted the return of Donovan Mitchell would cause a major shift in how the Jazz would space the floor. The 24-year-old star missed Game 1 when Utah's training staff held him out because of an ankle injury that caused him to miss the final 16 games of the regular season.
"In that first game, I didn't feel Utah had anyone too threatening coming off the pick-and-roll alongside Mike Conley," Allen notes. "But now that Mitchell is back, that changes. He's a pretty clever player, great off the lob, does a good job of firing cross-court passes to his guys. He pulls the defense in, gives those guys some room, and then gets the ball to them so they can let it fly.
"[Mitchell] also makes an effort to attack the basket. When it's a superstar, sometimes the whistle gets involved. So the Grizz are going to have to lock down in this one."
Mitchell showed few lingering effects of his injury in the opening minutes of Game 2, drilling three 3s and scoring 12 first-quarter points. The Jazz, who missed a staggering 35 3-pointers in Game 1, knocked down 19 treys in this game.
While Ja Morant is the astonishing prodigy who is the face of the Memphis franchise, Allen singled out big man Jonas Valanciunas as the player who brings levity to the blossoming core -- the youngest postseason roster since 2011 -- whether it's clogging lanes defensively, clearing the glass or contributing key baskets in the paint.
Just three minutes and 13 seconds into Game 2, Valanciunas was forced to the bench with two early fouls. Two minutes and 18 seconds later, Dillon Brooks, the emerging two-way star for the Grizzlies, joined him on the bench with two fouls of his own. The Jazz opened up a 74-54 lead at the break.
"Too many bad fouls," Allen texted at halftime. "That's a cardinal sin. Never foul jump shooters."
The lone bright spot was Morant, the lithe point guard who continued his offensive assault on the vaunted Jazz defense with his creativity and verticality.
"He's just electrifying when he's in the open court," Allen says. "He makes you jump out of your seat sometimes."
Morant's teammates wilted in the first half under the pressure of a raucous Jazz crowd, prompting Allen to text, "We gotta stay poised. Hostile environment. Gotta try to cut [the deficit] to 10."
Memphis did just that midway through the third quarter, by ceasing and desisting with the foolish fouling and finally knocking down some shots. When Valanciunas connected on the block, and Morant scored in traffic, suddenly Utah's lead had shrunk, 89-83.
Allen swears we haven't even seen the best of this Memphis team, gushing about Jaren Jackson Jr., who missed most of the season recovering from meniscus surgery on his left knee. Jackson is projected to be a cornerstone of the Grizzlies, and even though he has had to integrate himself back into the lineup on the fly, Allen suspects he will improve as the series progresses.
"His growth as he experiences these playoffs will be huge for him," Allen says. "There aren't many guys with his size that have the handle he has. It's all upside with Jaren."
Allen ticks off the other players who are also in the process of their ascension, including Xavier Tillman, rookie Desmond Bane and his charge, Melton, who hit a monster shot with three minutes to go that cut the Jazz advantage to two points late in the third quarter.
"I've been showing De'Anthony how to keep his base low and not get burned backdoor by putting his foot back," Allen says. "He can score a bit, too, but there's always a place for a guy who defends."
Allen laments the day the NBA banned the arm bar on defense -- a tactic, he says, that would have been highly effective against Mitchell. "Taking that away from the defensive guys was kinda harsh, I won't lie," Allen says.
Allen won a championship with the Boston Celtics in 2008, usually drawing the most difficult defensive assignment. "All those years in Boston, when Paul Pierce got two fouls, he'd look at me and say, 'You guard LeBron now,'" Allen recalls. "Sometimes I wonder if he got those fouls early so I could do the work."
He talks to the young Grizzlies about developing lasting ties with one another, ones he believes will pay dividends both on and off the court. That connection, he says, is critical. "Just look around the league," he says. "You can see which teams have it -- and which don't."
He still talks regularly to his former Celtics teammates, whether it's eating turkey wings with Kendrick Perkins in Houston or exchanging trash-talking texts with Pierce.
"I think back on all of those Hall of Famers -- Paul, KG, Ray [Allen]," he says. "I keep in touch with all of them. Just talked to Ray recently.
"The guidance they gave me and the togetherness we had as brothers, I wonder, 'Why aren't we still cool?' We had such respect for one another no matter what happened. I don't know what happened between some of those guys. I just wish there was more Ubuntu."
I was torn yesterday! @MCONLEY10 my man 💯 grand but a Grizzlies 8 seed led by a pit like Ja.. gonna be TOUGH!#GNG
— Tony Allen (@aa000G9) May 24, 2021
Allen says the Grizzlies are developing their own vibe -- "swag, lots of swag," he chuckles -- with input from Jenkins, whose coaching roots trace back to the Gregg Popovich family tree.
"He does such a good job of keeping those guys locked in," Allen says. "He's a very straightforward person. He's almost like Eddie Sutton [Allen's former coach at Oklahoma State] in that he loves you but, nothing personal, he's going to challenge you.
"He's done a great job helping Ja understand what leadership is about. You see it on the court, Ja talking all the time, keeping everyone engaged. "
Before Game 2, Allen texted Melton, who missed all four of his field goal attempts in Game 1, and advised him, "Don't be down. Stay ready."
"There will be a time for him," Allen says. "Playoff games get tricky. Things happen. Whistles get blown, and people need to come out. At some point they will need defense and shooting."
Melton chipped in 7 points, 4 rebounds and 17 minutes in Game 2, a 141-129 Utah victory. The Jazz finally torpedoed the pesky upstarts with a steady diet of high pick-and-roll actions and a healthy diet of Mitchell (25 points in 26 minutes).
Although Memphis didn't get the win, it did add to its street cred as a band of high-energy competitors who are not to be counted out. Morant, playing with the poise of a 10-year vet, repeatedly flummoxed Utah off the dribble. He checked out with 47 points in 43 minutes, and a promise that his team wasn't going anywhere.
None of them are, says Allen, the OG of grit and grind.
"I love this experience for them," he texted. "They will grow up quick."
NBA playoffs 2021 - From afar, watching the Utah Jazz and Memphis Grizzlies with Tony Allen - ESPN Philippines
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