Has Carmelo Anthony become a lockdown defender?
Carmelo Anthony has never been known for defense.
Which is what makes what's going on in New York right now noteworthy. The Knicks' narrative this season has been all about the emergence of Kristaps Porzingis. But all the hype surrounding the Latvian Ladder has been overshadowing the fact that Carmelo Anthony is playing his best defense in years.
It could be because he's healthier following a February knee surgery (despite a recently sprained right ankle). It could be because he's not forced to carry the load offensively to the extent he had to in years prior. It could be because he's happier to play defense on a team that isn't losing night in and night out (the Knicks are already three wins short of their total from last season).
Whatever the reason may be, Knicks fans aren't questioning it.
After posting the worst defensive rating of his career last season (110), he's producing a DefRtg of 103.2 this year, which — excluding the lockout season in which he posted a 102 — would be the best mark of his career.
Anthony has made the biggest strides defensively on the perimeter this season, holding opposing shooters to 22.7 percent on 3-pointers. That's the best percentage in the league among players who have defended against at least 70 threes, just edging out LeBron James (22.8), and holding a healthy lead over the likely 2015-16 Defensive Player of the Year in Kawhi Leonard (27.4). Going by NBA.com's differential percentage figures, your 3-pointer is 11.2 percent less likely to go in when being defended by Anthony compared to the league's average defender.
Anthony has also allowed opponents to shoot just 5 of 22 from the corners, despite the league averaging 38.1 percent from that spot. His improvement from beyond the arc isn't getting as much attention as it should be, especially considering he gave up the second-highest 3-point percentage of any wing player to defend 100 threes last season, previously allowing opponents to shoot 41.9 percent against him.
It can be hard to gauge a player's defensive performance solely by looking at a box score. At first glance, Melo's averages of one steal per game and half a block per game don't come off as impressive. Good defensive fundamentals like staying on your feet during shot fakes, pestering the ball handler and forcing the opponent into a bad shot supersede the stat book.
Melo's newfound defensive energy will be increasingly important while he covers wing players. With the Knicks' huge Porzingis-Robin Lopez front court, Anthony is spending 70 percent of his time playing small forward.
All in all, Anthony is allowing opponents to shoot just 35.4 percent from the field, an 8.9 percent drop from his opponents' combined 44.3 percent mark. There are 12 players who have taken at least 15 shots against Anthony this season, and only two are shooting above 40 percent (Tobias Harris, 40.7; LeBron James, 59.4).
But, to be fair, not a lot of people can defend LeBron James.
And as long as Anthony can continue to shut down other players, the Knicks will be looking at a chance to compete for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
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