Carmelo Anthony has been pretty brutal this year. He can clearly score a ton of points, but I look at his field goal % and see brutal, stagnant basketball. In theory, the Knicks have the best front court is the NBA (allegedly 2 of the top 15 players in the world at forward and certainly a top 6 or 7 center in basketball – efficient, great D, knows his place offensively). Granted their backcourt situation has been fairly weak, but Carmelo is below .500 as a Knick – that’s ridiculous.
Since mid-January the Knicks are 5-9 when Melo plays and he is shooting a weak 36% from the field (including a pathetic 22% from 3).
The Knicks need to find a way to get Carmelo to drive to the hole a lot more. Nothing can get under Coach Michael’s skin more than the back down to that awkward spot Duncan banks from and then turn right into the defender to take a tough shot.
Melo didn’t have much luck last night; he did try to drive a decent amount (getting blocked 5 times is evidence) but he just didn’t get the calls.
Here is my theory:
Have Melo bring the ball up court. He is a strong dribbler for a forward and the move would solve the above problem…let me explain. Classically, Jeremy Lin has been bringing up the ball like the typical point guard. He waits for a big guy to come set a pick at the top of the key and then tries to run the pick and roll with that big. Carmelo and shooter x (Fields, Novak, Shumpert, Smith etc.) work the wings. In this scenario, if the pick and roll breaks down and Lin passes to Carmelo, everyone just sits around and Carmelo shoots the ball.
If…Carmelo brings the ball up court and Lin starts on the wing (shooter x starts in the corner), then more activity will occur. Option 1 – Melo picks up steam as he dribbles up court and drives on his man, Option 2 – Carmelo dribbles up court, crosses the half court line, keeps moving towards the basket and Lin curls towards the top of the key. Melo dribbles to just inside the top of the key and hands the ball off to Lin. At this point 1 of 2 new things can happen:
(a) Melo slips past his defender towards the hoop and looks for a lob pass from Lin for a layup/dunk
(b) Melo can’t get to the hoop and moves to the wing. The big guy comes up and runs pick and roll with Lin.
In either case, Lin is closer to the hoop (basically at the 3 point line) to start the play. Teams have been trying to make him run pick and rolls from much further distances from the basket. This forces Lin to dribble more into traffic and creates a whole lot of turnovers. When Carmelo brings the ball up court, teams are less likely to press him because of his driving ability and size.
Bottom Line: Carmelo needs to move more without the ball; he also NEEDS to touch the ball a lot. Bringing the ball up court allows him to touch the ball and limits his stagnancy.
Carmelo has elite skills and can certainly create off the dribble, giving him the ball at the wing or in the high elbow post is motionless and clearly not very successful.
Last night against Miami was a matter of a better team winning the game. The Knicks held their own and were in the game for the better part of 3 and a half quarters.
Knicks fans, the team is close to an elite level. Minor tweaks can/will get them over the top.
I like the post that u sent me, seems like solid analysis and the
ReplyDeleteKnicks definitely need to get Melo more active. I haven't fully
thought about how to get this offense running at the highest
efficiency, but that's partly because I think the team needs some time
to gel and get closer to being on the same page. One thought that I do
have about having Melo bring up the ball and dishing it off to Lin
close to the hoop(option B), is that it could negate Lin's explosive
quickness and ability to beat his man. Jeremy's not the fastest player
in the league, but his gift for angling his body and accelerating past
his defender is part of what makes him so dangerous. Additionally, he
has shown tremendous body control and strength while in the air.
Giving Lin the ball closer to the hoop might limit his ability to
maneuver around the defense and might reduce his momentum, something
that he effectively harnesses while in the driver seat. Although many
could argue that shortening the distance that Lin needs to drive would
minimize his turnovers, I would have to say that just the opposite
might be true. Yes many of his turnovers have been due to ambitious
and risky passing, but a large amount occur when Lin is confined to
the paint. There he meets a congestion of big bodies and a gauntlet of
hands trying to rip the ball away from him. Without enough real estate
to use his agility and navigation skills, Lin's capabilities might be
severely compromised.
no one likes to see a grown man dribble
ReplyDeletehal, ur dead. good to see u alive and kicking
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