88 to 80.

The Hawks successfully limited the Suns' scoring to less than 90 points, and defense was the key reason why they were able to beat the Celtics and Magic.

However, they probably never expected that the Suns would defend them and only score 80 points!

Joe Johnson started the game hot, but was almost blocked by Tony Allen in the rest of the game. He only scored 14 points in the whole game!

Tony Allen became famous in one battle!

In the news report after the game, Allen beat out the team's Big Three and appeared on the cover of Phoenix Sports News!

But in fact, Allen only arrived for 20 minutes in total!

This shows how much impact he has on defensive vision.

A very certain fact: Allen played earlier than in history!

Lin Ying was also quite happy.

The most direct point is that targeted play can indeed improve the Suns' combat effectiveness.

As long as Gentry can handle Allen's rotation position well, the Suns' lower limit of strength will be greatly improved.

And he seems to have changed direction and saved a wave of Durant?

In history, Allen became famous for playing Durant.

…

As time came to late November, the Suns' record had some ups and downs.

This has something to do with the schedule, and it also has something to do with Gentry's experiment.

After getting a taste of the benefits from Allen, he tried to bring in Ben and moved Lin Ying to the third position.

This is to increase the number of defensive counterattacks through ultimate individual defense.

But the effect is not ideal.

One is that the movement speed drops more after the boss gets older.

Another more important thing is that after his jumping ability declined, his scoring ability was basically gone. The opponent's five-defense and four-defense Suns' position was very difficult.

This also made Gentry, who originally planned to put Allen in, hesitate.

Because although I won the previous game against the Eagles, a similar situation also occurred.

This is actually what Lin Ying was worried about before.

The Suns have their own offensive system, and 3D players like Bell can easily integrate into it, but only D players like Allen and Ben will test Gentry's formation ability.

At the end of the day's training, Gentry suddenly asked Lin Ying to chat alone.

"The things Steve told me were your thoughts, so I have something I want to talk to you about."

Gentry's reaction is not surprising.

Although he knows defense, defense is not his strong point, otherwise Lin Ying would have to think of something to target.

"What do you think about putting Tony in?"

Gentry was also very direct. After Lin Ying sat down, he rubbed his head and asked.

Apparently this had troubled him for a while.

"Just tell me, no one else will know."

In order to prevent Lin Ying from worrying, he even added a sentence.

Lin Ying also spoke freely about what Gentry said.

"Yes, but it's best to be flexible based on who you hit."

When Gentry was testing the lineup, he was also observing and thinking, and his thinking was still very clear.

This sentence is actually easy to understand. If the opponent is strong inside but average on the outside, there is no need to play Allen.

Of course, now is the era of swingman forwards and defenders, and there are actually not many teams like this anymore.

The rest is actually available.

And he also talked about why he could go to Allen.

Allen currently has no three-point ability or offensive ability with the ball, but he is not completely without scoring ability.

His cutting ability without the ball is very strong.

This is where he is better than Ben now.

Otherwise, he would never have been able to play with the Grizzlies in history.

And there is a certain difference between practice and theory.

Theoretically, a role player with no space ability will cause his teammates to be trapped in double teams at any time.

But in a real game, the space changes at any time.

Simulate a scenario:

Lin Ying held the ball with his back in the low post, and Allen took his defender away through the back door.

Because of his scoring ability, opponents did not dare to flank Lin Ying in the low post, so he got a one-on-one low post opportunity in a short period of time.

This is also the regular routine for the Grizzlies to use Allen on the offensive end in history.

And there is one thing about the Suns that is very similar to the Grizzlies, maybe even better than the Grizzlies.

Pass the ball.

There are many people in the Suns who can pass the ball. Nash, Lin Ying, and Hill are all passers.

This means that Allen can completely rely on cutting in to form an offensive threat, thereby putting pressure on the defense and preventing opponents from double-teaming easily.

"Tony actually doesn't need much playing time. His pressing defense is very energy-consuming, and the players he defends will also be exhausted very quickly."

Lin Ying also talked about a detail he observed.

Although he and Allen were teammates in Denver, Allen's defense was still immature at that time.

But now the summer training, coupled with the near-desperate pressure, has made Allen's defense mature, and he has observed more things.

Allen's defensive approach actually completely sacrifices his meager offense.

Coupled with his defensive skills, pre-match preparation and concentration, he can explode with strong defensive pressure in a short period of time.

Every time the opponent escapes and every attack, a huge amount of physical energy is consumed.

This is equivalent to fighting monsters. First, you will be beaten to the lowest health, and then the person who reaps the harvest does not have to be Allen.

As for the opponent deliberately not attacking to reduce physical energy consumption, that is actually the same as defending.

Because the one Allen can face must be the core of the opponent's offense.

This is a data analyst (tactical fallback).

Gentry looked at Lin Ying with strange eyes.

Why does it feel like Lin Ying can also be an NBA head coach?

This is actually an illusion.

Lin Ying only came to this conclusion because of his clairvoyance and his observation of Allen.

Of course, with the tactical understanding and experience that Lin Ying showed in college, it is not impossible to become a coach after retiring.

After talking about Allen's question, Gentry went on to talk about something related to Lin Ying.

He wanted to arrange for Big Ben to guide Lin Ying's defense.

He gave a reason that made it difficult for Lin Ying to refuse.

"Except you are not as strong as him, the rest of your defensive characteristics are almost the same as his."

From this sentence we can also see his current thinking.

Since the basics are not enough, then just improve Lin Ying's defensive ability.

…

Coming out of Gentry's office, Lin Ying was thinking about the last words Gentry said.

It seems to make sense.

Big Ben's defensive characteristics include both strength and speed. He can rely on strength to hold most of the inside line, and even limit O'Neal to a certain extent. He can also make up for the position through various defensive changes through excellent assist defense.

Of course, there is also his historic rebounding sense.

It's impossible for Lin Ying to match Da Ben's strength, but he can do other things.

As for rebounding, his improved positioning skills are basically sufficient.

However, his personal improvement alone is not enough, Stoudemire must be brought in too.

Even if he is a big player, he relied on Rasheed Wallace to defeat the opponent's big center many times back then.

Not to mention that he and Stoudemire have achieved it, it is enough that they can produce a weakened version of the effect.

In the training session the next day, during the team's basic training, Ben took them alone to teach them some defensive skills.
To be continued...