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Par Guillaume Kagni | Journaliste sportif
Tony Allen is one of the best defenders in the history of the sport, as Kobe Bryant himself once said. But the Grizzlies guard, who had his jersey retired by the franchise, thinks he’d be in trouble against a modern-day superstar.
Players like Tony Allen can’t really exist in the NBA anymore, and that’s a shame. Offensively very limited (he couldn’t put a shot behind the arc, for example), the guard stood out solely for his defensive qualities, and God knows there were plenty of them. You don’t become Kobe Bryant’s bête noire without being a master at it.
Tony Allen’s defense was literally on god level. One of the best ever on the opposite end of the court. pic.twitter.com/c8fv1OvaT5
— Hoops™️ (@AIIHoops) October 17, 2019
Tony Allen honest about Anthony Edwards’ skills
Retired for a few years now, the Grizzlies’ legendary #9 has seen the game evolve little by little, until it has become an ode to 3-point shooting. On Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller’s podcast, we asked him how he would have fared against this new generation. Tony Allen was very honest and named a player he would find hard to contain.
Today, players know how to get to the spots they want and create space for themselves. You have to be able to fight when they initiate contact. You have to be physically strong and able to avoid attracting the referees’ whistles. These days, it’s the leaders who run into you, and as soon as they get to half-distance, they push you just enough to have room to draw. You have to be able to move your feet quickly to contest.
The one who would really get me into trouble is Anthony Edwards. Whether he goes left or right, he’s now capable of spraying from very far away. If you send him on his left hand, he’s able to explode to the basket and put you on a poster. If you send him to the right, he’s just as strong and the result can be the same. There’s no weakness in his game.
Tony Allen was able to defend against the greatest forwards of the 2000s and early next decade, but he doesn’t think he can stop Anthony Edwards. For him, the Timberwolves backcourt has been an intractable problem ever since he was able to light up with as much precision as Stephen Curry. Because if you stick him too close, he’s capable of driving to the basket and crushing a defender with a dunk.
