the great gatsby

Chapter 169 The Suffocating Tony Allen!

The Celtics' defense did not cause too much trouble for the Knicks. This is not too much of a surprise. After all, it is the regular season, and it is impossible for the Celtics to devote a lot of attention to defense during the regular season, old man They have to balance work and rest, play dead in the regular season, and have energy in the playoffs.

It’s just that they also encountered difficulties on the offensive end. This was beyond Doc Rivers’ expectations. Teams like the San Antonio Spurs and later the Golden State Warriors have almost increased their offensive power to the point where they cannot be defended, because this entire system is based on the fact that all players are invested in it-team play It is difficult to be restricted.

But the Knicks' defense today did cause trouble for the Celtics.

The reason is also simple. The aging of their lineup is one aspect. Rondo has no shot at this point. Gatsby can devote more energy to the defense. The deeper reason is that the Knicks' defense has become stronger. up!

The arrival of Bogut changed the Knicks' defense!
Gallinari and Bogut switch defenses, Gallinari defends Rasheed who is ambushing the corner, and Garnett, who is wandering, is restrained by Bogut in the center. The Knicks' defense shrinks, and Garnett can't get much inside. Opportunity.

Pierce's breakthrough is difficult to have a good chance in such a space. Except for Ray Allen hitting a three-pointer at the beginning of the game, he missed two shots after that. Rasheed has a chance, but today's touch is not good. good.

This is certainly due to the Celtics' own feeling, but the sudden strengthening of the Knicks' defense is the key reason for the Celtics' poor performance. Their pre-game preparations are not sufficient. In their view, the Knicks' The defense is a piece of shit, and it can be pierced casually. I didn't expect that with just one more Bogut, the Knicks' defense would undergo a radical change. This change caught them off guard.

In half a quarter, the score between the two sides was 15:21, and the Knicks led by 6 points at home.

D'Antoni replaced Bogut with Tyson Chandler, Larry Hughes, Chris Duhon, Gallinari and David Lee, except for Wilson Chandler and Gates More than that, everyone else has changed.

The lineup of the Celtics has also changed. After all, most of them are old men in their 30s. More rotations are good for their physical maintenance. Pierce and Garnett are off the court to rest. Ray Allen and Rondo lead the team.

The Celtics lineup on the field is composed of Rondo, Ray Allen, Tony Allen, Brian Scalabrine, Sheldon Williams and others. This is a very small lineup. James is 206cm, Scalabrine is also 206cm, Ray Allen is 196cm, Tony Allen is 193cm, and Doug Reeves wants to use a small lineup of high-speed rotations to limit the Knicks' Gatsby.

Gatsby noticed that the defender had changed from Rondo to Tony Allen. Gatsby smiled slightly, did he finally use his defensive weapon?
Before the 2004 draft, the 22-year-old Tony Allen was not favored. Although he was the scoring leader and the first defender of Oklahoma State University, scouts generally believed that he played a point guard and did not control the ball. Wei is not tall, and his shooting is completely unreliable-he has no potential to be selected in the first round anyway.

In fact, it also proves that Tony Allen is not a good scorer, but he used two defensive players on the first team and one defensive player on the second team to prove his value:
——In the 2010 Finals, he contributed a textbook biting defense against Kobe Bryant, averaging 15 minutes per game, which almost made Kobe the cause of the Lakers' loss in the finals;

——In the 2010-11 season, Tony Allen, Battier and Sam Young who came to the Grizzlies formed a chain of death on the forward and defensive lines. Allen sent an astonishing 6 steals in 14 games, completely trapped That year, the Grizzlies completed the Black Eight miracle;

——In the second round after that, Tony Allen made persistent efforts, allowing Durant to see the legendary torture chamber defense, and helped the team drag the Thunder to the seventh game. Two years later, the two met again. Tony Allen single-mindedly bit his face, and the three-time scoring champion Durant lost all face when he was defended, and his shooting percentage dropped from 51% in the regular season to 42%.

——In the 2015 Western Conference semifinals, facing the sudden emergence of the Warriors, Tony Allen once prevented the splash from being able to breathe, allowing the Grizzlies to take a 2-1 lead. This may be the most brilliant career of Tony Allen time.

Tony Allen!Gatsby sighed in his heart.

Gatsby is indeed under pressure. Tony Allen's defensive moves are very clean, but he has been entangled in front of Gatsby. He is very good at predicting the opponent's movements. Even Tyson Chandler can squeeze in a high pick-and-roll. However, and using his strong body to squeeze Gatsby's space, he didn't make too many moves, but kept biting in front of Gatsby, waiting for the opportunity to disrupt Gatsby's rhythm and pass the ball.

"Wow, Gatsby is in trouble, and now he is facing Tony Allen, a defensive expert who relies on his defense to gain a foothold in the league. Tony Allen is 193cm tall, the same height as Gatsby, but weighs 97kg. He is much stronger than Gatsby, Gatsby is weak in the confrontation, Tony Allen's arms are very long, he can cover Gatsby with his long arms.

The point is, Tony Allen is not fighting alone. The rest of the Celtics are helping Tony Allen cut off Gatsby's passing lanes and block Gatsby's breakthrough lanes...Steal, Ray Allen Cut off the line between Gatsby and Chandler, and cut off Gatsby's pass to Wilson Chandler, thanks to Tony Allen's pestering!

It wasn't a fluke that Tony Allen was able to use his defense to get a foothold in the league, and his defense was enough to make him a foothold.D'Antoni should make some adjustments. If he can't solve Tony Allen's entanglement with Gatsby, the Knicks' next game will be particularly difficult, because the Knicks now only have one core, and they have no other way to attack. players. said Jeff Van Gundy.

D'Antoni called a timeout. During this period, the Celtics played a wave of 8:0, approaching the score and overtaking the score. When the game was only one and a half minutes old, the score was 23:21.

Gatsby returned to the bench panting. Tony Allen's defense was indeed tough and airtight, which made Gatsby feel a little suffocated. It was much more difficult than when he faced Artest. After all, Artest's defense is aimed at inside players, and there is no good way to deal with the flexible Gatsby.

But Tony Allen is different, he is good at defending the perimeter!

(End of this chapter)