Tony Allen Injury: Updates on Grizzlies Star's Ankle and Return
The Memphis Grizzlies were without starting guards Tony Allen and Mike Conley for Tuesday night's game against the Dallas Mavericks, the former with an injured ankle and the latter a wrist problem. Both returned to action on Saturday against Oklahoma City.
Continue for updates.
Allen Returns vs. Thunder
Saturday, Jan. 31
Allen returned against the Thunder on Saturday, as noted by the Grizzlies.
Allen Suffers Ankle Injury
Tuesday, Jan. 27
Grizzlies sideline reporter Rob Fischer had the news:
Allen, 33, will be missing his second straight game with a sprained left ankle. Courtney Lee, who scored 11 points in 33 minutes in Monday's win over the Orlando Magic, will get the start at shooting guard. Lee, Jeff Green and Vince Carter should share a majority of the minutes at the wing spots.
Allen remains one of the NBA's best on-ball defenders, but his playing time has fluctuated since the Grizzlies acquired Green. The veteran is averaging 8.0 points and 3.7 rebounds per game on 47.6 percent shooting. It will be interesting to see if the Grizzlies use Allen's absence as a test run to a more permanent change with Lee entering the starting lineup.
Memphis is 3-4 in games Allen has missed this season. For the season the team is 11.9 points better per 100 possessions with Allen on the floor, per Basketball-Reference.com, but that's largely a byproduct of the majority of his minutes coming with the starting unit.
The Grizzlies enter Tuesday night with a half-game lead over the Portland Trail Blazers for the Western Conference's No. 2 seed.
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