Collins wants new dad Allen to have bigger ego

Lavoy Allen tweeted Thursday night, “Happiest day of my life.” 

Many people would second that opinion since Allen’s tweet came after the birth of his first child, a boy.

“It was great,” Allen said. “Whenever you bring new life into the world it’s a great experience, and I am excited.”

Allen said he went to the hospital on Thursday at 3 a.m. and returned home Friday morning. It was a sleepless 24 hours for he and girlfriend Dolores.

When asked what the couple named the child, Allen went Hollywood.

“I can’t release that information until I get paid like Jay Z and Beyonce or Angelina and Brad,” Allen said with a straight face. “Until someone pays me, I cannot release it.”

Allen later said they decided on Kai.

Kai’s anticipated arrival caused Allen to miss the first training camp practice on Tuesday. When the birth did not take place, Allen joined his teammates for an evening practice session that night. He was present for Wednesday’s practice before taking off Thursday to become a proud papa.

“Now that that is over with I am getting back to playing,” Allen said. “I missed a couple days, so I need to get my wind back and catch up with the rest of the team.”

During Friday’s scrimmage, Allen looked more like he was leading the charge rather than catching up. He was scoring, he was strong on the boards and he was physical.  That combination, delivered consistently, should earn Allen the kind of playing time he saw in the playoffs last season when he averaged 20 minutes a night.  

Doug Collins is confident Allen can replicate what he did Friday on a nightly basis, but he is looking for one more thing from the Temple alum.

“Get a bigger ego,” Collins said. “With Lavoy, I want him to get a bigger ego in a good way. Lavoy could be a double-double kind of guy. You see how well he shoots the ball. 

“He has missed two practices, so his conditioning is still coming. The guys on the team love playing with him. He helps Spencer (Hawes) and he helps Thad (Young) because they need to play next to a stronger guy.”

As a rookie, Allen appeared in 41 of the 66 regular-season games during the lockout-shortened season. Allen started 15 of those contests, but it was his postseason play that secured him a new two-year contract and increased expectations for his second season. 

“I prepare the same last year and this year,” Allen said. “The rookies coming in this year, they have been playing pretty well, Maalik Wayns and Arnett Moultrie. So I just have to keep up with everybody and hopefully get some minutes.”

Allen’s best minutes of the season likely came in the Eastern Conference semifinals last spring when he held his own against Kevin Garnett. 

Nothing will help him prepare to defend centers around the league like his daily practice sessions when he will have to guard 7-foot, 285-pound Andrew Bynum once the All-Star joins his new teammates in action.

The Sixers have a strong frontline with Bynum, Hawes, Allen, Moultrie and Kwame Brown. 

With plenty of depth in the frontcourt and fearless players in the backcourt, the Sixers don’t plan on backing down to any opponent.

“We are going to get after people,” Royal Ivey said. “We are physical and we are big. We are big up front and we are big in the backcourt, so we can get after people. We have a lot of fouls, so we are going to play physical. That is going to be our bread and butter.”

“Last year, we were a little bit of a finesse team,” Collins said. “We’re a contact team now. Guys on our team hit. They don’t mind being hit and it’s a real different personality we have.”