If Michelangelo had been able to give a TED talk on painting and sculpting, lovers of the arts all around the world would have dropped what they were doing and listened. If Shakespeare himself came back Bill & Ted-style to give a writing clinic, you better believe I would sign up. By the same token, when Tony Allen, the Grindfather himself, explains how he would stop some of today’s most dynamic offensive players in the NBA. It’s a subject that demands our attention.
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Allen gave Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade, two of the top players of his era, their toughest challenge on the court. Kobe once paid him the ultimate respect by telling him just that. He was the heart and soul of the Grit and Grind Grizzlies, and he was a key part of the 2008 NBA champion Boston Celtics.
Allen appeared on the most recent episode of The OGs podcast with Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller, and he was asked how he would stop MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He had some interesting words to say.
“If I had to start with Shai,” Allen began, “I’m definitely sending him to his right hand. A lot of his shots, he just make look easy going left. It looks like a rhythm shot … Not only that, since they’re letting us be physical now, let’s get our bigs up a little more, and give me a left hand to push through the screen.”
Allen harped on the importance of staying close to SGA and being ready to absorb contact when he pushes off to get his shot. “A lot of people don’t realize how strong he is as a 6’6″ point guard. Once he push you off, that’s the separation right there. If you could brace that, be able to gather your upper body up and still be willing to contest for a 48-minute game, I don’t see him being effective.”
If those words came out of nearly any other player’s mouth, you’d laugh. But Allen has earned the right to speak with such confidence. How about what he would do against Jalen Brunson, another player, like SGA, known for being able to bait defenders into committing fouls?
“You gotta be willing to fight these guys bumps, be physical, and you’re fighting the ref too. Other than that, he initiates all of the contact. Similar to Shai, once they get to that mid-range pulley, they pushing you to the point where they want to create just a little space, and if you can manage to hold that push-off and still be able to move your feet … you gotta close the space back up and be able to contest.”
Allen preached the importance of giving max effort throughout the entire game, as that could wear a player down and make him less effective in the second half. Shots that fall early clang harmlessly off the rim late.
When discussing how he’d try to stop Anthony Edwards, Allen was shockingly humble. “He’s the one that probably got me,” he said. “If he’s east to west, he can pull up from 40 now, his range got extended. If you push him left, he might take off, go left and throw it on your head. Then if he go right, he just as strong as going the other way to dunk you the other way.”
Allen concluded by paying Ant-Man the highest compliment, saying, “He tough, bro. I don’t got no answer for him.”
The Thunder did a great job in limiting Edwards to 23 points per game in the Western Conference Finals, but it was a team effort and not a single guy that slowed him down.
The Pacers weren’t able to slow Brunson down much, as he averaged over 30 a game, but outside of him and Karl-Anthony Towns, they held the rest of the Knicks in check while giving Tom Thibodeau’s defense fits of its own with their pace and ability to share the ball.
Through two Finals games, SGA has backed up his first MVP award by scoring 34 and 38. Are the Pacers employing the same strategy that they did against Brunson by daring SGA to hang a big number on them while they stick to his teammates? Or is SGA just going to get his no matter what?
We’ll begin to get more answers tonight, when the Pacers host Game 3 at 8:30 p.m. ET.
