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Grizzlies' Allen 'hurt' by Warriors' strategy: 'If they try that s*** again ...'

Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports

Anyone who's been in the Memphis Grizzlies' locker room will say Tony Allen is usually a happy, fun-loving guy, but that doesn't mean the Grindfather doesn't get irritated sometimes.

During the Grizzlies' second-round playoff exit to the Golden State Warriors, an injury to Allen and a defensive adjustment by Steve Kerr helped turn the series in the Dubs' favor.

Allen, after doing a stellar job of defending Klay Thompson helped Memphis take a 2-1 series lead, tweaked his hamstring, after which the Warriors switched center Andrew Bogut onto him - if they guarded him at all.

"When they pulled that strategy, man, I was hurt," Allen told the Memphis Commercial Appeal's Geoff Calkins.

"If they try that s--- again ..."

It burns the veteran perimeter defensive specialist because it was solely based on his injury.

"Had I been healthy, and they had somebody (like Bogut) on me, I probably would have showed up in a different way in a game as far as rebounding, steals," Allen said. "Them putting Bogut on me simply affected our team because of injury."

Never a potent offensive threat, Allen sat out Game 5, shooting a combined 3-of-12 with six points in Games 4 and 6.

Allen is heading into his sixth season with the Grizzlies, and no player personifies the tough, defensively-focused recent history of the team than the Grindfather himself - and the Grindhouse he named.

His defense is still tight - he averaged a career-high two steals per game last season - and he said he wants to dedicate himself to being the "elite glue guy" that Andre Iguodala was for the Warriors.

With Marc Gasol unsurprisingly re-signing with the Grizz, the window for the team is still there in a ridiculously competitive Western Conference, but it's closing fast. Allen turns 34 in January, the same age power forward Zach Randolph is now. Point guard Mike Conley will be an unrestricted free agent next summer.

"I can't envision myself no place else," Allen said. "I got about five more years."

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