Tony Allen played 14 seasons in the NBA from 2004 to 2018. Allen was named to six All-Defensive teams in that span and likely should have won a Defensive Player of the Year award.
Related: Watch: Draymond Green puts fan wearing Jordan Poole jersey in headlock
Allen certainly was of the old-school mindset, as defense was what he lived for. Today’s NBA players certainly don’t focus on that end of the floor and it upsets Allen.
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“It has been hard for me simply because I don’t like how they play pick and roll. That sag action, to me, I thought that was a lazy way of playing defense,” Allen explained.
“For me, a guy that’s fighting over a screen, if I ain’t got just somebody to show me a little second where I could fight through, I think that’ll hurt me. And guys who are just taking over the mid-range game in today’s game, bro, they’re gonna have a field day with you.
“You remember, these are the shows, get back to your man. But what that forces is the multiple efforts. I think we’re losing multiple efforts in the game right now. It’s like one or two actions and you get,” Allen said.
“I think we’re struggling, though, because we were brought up on, you know, help the helper, tag on the weak side, send them baseline, low…”
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Allen is correct in his assumption. Today’s NBA players are lazy when it comes to defense. For most younger fans, they don’t mind, as the fast-paced, run-and-gun, shoot three-pointers style of play is exciting.
To older fans, this style is overrated as defense is important to the game of basketball. Today’s players are playing checkers, while the defensive players of the past played chess.
