Schmeelk: Carmelo Is Helping Knicks In Big Way Despite Shooting Struggles
By John Schmeelk
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The oft-spoken narrative surrounding Carmelo Anthony has been simple: Great scorer who doesn't do anything else well. So far this season, while finding his legs from his knee surgery a year ago, Anthony has mostly turned that narrative upside down.
Anthony played his second straight very strong game on Wednesday night, nearly tallying a triple-double with 20 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists. He shot just 6-of-15, but got to the line eight times, hitting seven of his attempts. That's coming off a game against Portland when he shot 13-of-21, scored 37 points and carried the Knicks to a win to end their West Coast trip.
In most games this year, Anthony has been a willing passer and has not stopped the ball on offense. Even though his modest 3.5 assists per game is only a half-assist more than his career average, it's his highest total since 2011-12 and third-highest of his career. His 7.5 rebounds per game would be his highest since 2013-14 and the second-highest of his career. His defensive rebounding percentage is also the highest of his career, showing he is more concerned with helping finish possessions on defense than grabbing his own misses on offense to score more points.
Anthony has shown demonstrable progress on defense as well. As Chris Herring wrote in The Wall Street Journal the other day, he has been much more effective this year in closing out on shooters. He has the second lowest three-point percentage allowed by a wing defender this year (23.8 percent), while last year he was second to worst (41.9 percent). His one-on-one on-the-ball defense has also been good, and he still gets the occasional swipe block on drivers, two things he has done well over the course of his career.
There are two areas defensively he still needs to improve on. He rarely, if ever, fights over or through screens. Too often he will simply run into the screening player and call for a switch, even if it means creating a mismatch for a smaller player. He also too often finds himself jogging back on defense, allowing easy transition opportunities for opposing players. Even with these issues, there's still improvement, which should be encouraging to Knicks fans.
All these numbers represent progress that Anthony has made on things people have criticized him for over the course of his career. He is playing more of a team game and giving more effort on the defensive end. It also appears as though he is providing good veteran guidance to Kristaps Porzingis. He was one of the reasons Arron Afflalo wanted to come to the Knicks.
Ironically enough, Anthony's greatest strengths haven't shown up this season. Despite his great shooting game against the Trail Blazers, he is shooting a career-low 41 percent from the field. A lot of it has to do with his inability to finish near the rim, shooting under 49 percent on shots within five feet of the basket. He also isn't getting to the line as much, averaging only 6.2 free throws per game, which would be the lowest number of his career, spare his injury-ravaged 2014-15 season.
The other way a superstar player helps a team is scoring late in games, when defenses lock in and make it hard to get easy baskets. It's times like those when a team's best player has to score one-on-one and put the team on his back. Anthony has done the opposite this year. He is shooting a putrid 30 percent in fourth quarters this year, and just 22 percent from behind the arc. He is averaging more turnovers than assists and fewer assists than in any other quarter.
As Anthony puts more distance away from his knee injury and gets his legs underneath him, his shooting, finishing near the rim and fourth-quarter shooting should all improve. The Knicks don't have enough advanced offensive players to afford him struggling so much with his shot, especially late in games. It has, and will, cost them games. Unless Anthony's decline has begun in earnest, which doesn't seem likely based on how he is moving around, the hope is that all these numbers will get better as the season continues.
Through the first 26 games of the season, Anthony has shown a willingness to buy into what the Knicks are trying to do offensively and defensively. He is engaged and is helping the coach get his message across. The next step is for him to regain his shooting form, and it better happen fast if the Knicks want to make a playoff run.
You can follow me on Twitter @Schmeelk for everything Knicks, Giants and the world of sports.