Indiana's Three-Step Plan to Contain Carmelo Anthony
By
Chris Herring
Updated Jan. 15, 2014 9:43 p.m. ETRoy Hibbert and the Pacers often invite Carmelo Anthony to try his luck at the rim. AP
INDIANAPOLIS—It's no secret that the Knicks have had fits trying to beat the Indiana Pacers in recent years. That much is clear going into Thursday night's game, one in which the Knicks are trying to avoid a seventh straight defeat in Indianapolis.
To do that, the Knicks will finally have to solve the Pacers' defense, which consistently neutralizes superstar Carmelo Anthony in a way that no other team in the NBA can. Including last season's playoffs, the Pacers have held Anthony under 40% shooting seven times in 13 games since 2011-12.
How do they do it? Here's a closer look.
They force Anthony to work harder on defense than he's used to. Strange as it may sound, the Pacers' offense plays a significant role in limiting Anthony's scoring. Of the 79 games he played last season, Anthony was forced to defend a season-high seven post-up plays in a game three times, according to Synergy Sports. All three came against the Pacers, and Anthony shot under 40% every time.
Besides potentially drawing Anthony into foul trouble, Indiana believes it can wear him down by making him guard a more physical player for long stretches. "If he's on someone like David West, we're gonna call plays for David to make Melo exert energy on both ends, and not just save it for offense," said Brian Shaw, who served as a Pacers assistant coach last season before taking over the Denver Nuggets.
They create a mirage at the basket. This might sound even stranger: The top-ranked Pacers defense appears completely content to let Anthony drive into the lane. And Anthony, as one of the game's top scorers, is always happy to do so. In fact, he has averaged more shots at the rim against Indiana in the past three seasons than against any other team. But, much like trying to win a toy out of an amusement-park claw machine, trying to score at the rim against Indiana is often an illusion.
The Pacers essentially want Anthony to get a step on defender Paul George so he can advance to the basket and face the boss: Roy Hibbert, Indiana's 7-foot-2-inch tree of a center.
"They invite you to go at the big fella," said ex-Knicks guard Jason Kidd, as New York was being dispatched last postseason.
"You have to be very disciplined and have a very high IQ to be able to execute against a system like that, because Hibbert does a great job of contesting without fouling," said Miami Heat coach Eric Spoelstra, whose team squeaked past Indiana in seven games to reach the NBA Finals last season.
The Knicks might have fared better by declining Indiana's invitations to the paint. They learned that the hard way at a critical juncture late in Game 6, when Hibbert produced an epic block at the rim on an Anthony dunk attempt.
That play aside, Anthony struggled mightily, both in shooting (9-for-27 at the rim against Hibbert last postseason) and earning foul calls against Hibbert. In fact, Anthony—the NBA's only wing player in recent memory to log 50 or more offensive fouls in a season multiple times—often finds himself being blamed for the contact between himself and Hibbert.
They seal off his other options. Most NBA teams can't fully contain Anthony without using an occasional double-team. Using that second defender can be risky, and that Anthony has exploited the strategy better than anyone this season. But double-teaming is a gamble the disciplined Pacers seldom have to make.
Indiana's ability to hold its man-to-man assignments—the Pacers used double-teams less frequently than any team in basketball last season, according to Synergy—makes it difficult for opposing players to get open looks along the perimeter.
This season, the Pacers have allowed the fewest three-point attempts of any team and held opponents to an NBA-worst 32.6% from behind the line. That stifling perimeter defense throws an enormous wrench into Anthony's playmaking ability, which works best when he's able to make an overaggressive help defender pay by finding an open teammate with a pass.
The Knicks are scoring a league-best 1.46 points per play and own an NBA-high 71.1% effective-field-goal rate when Anthony passes out of a double-team and finds a spot-up shooter, according to Synergy. But it's telling, both about Anthony's score-first mind-set as well as Indiana's defensive principles, that Anthony has been held to one assist or less in seven of his 13 games against Indiana since 2011-12.
Moreover, his low 9.3% assist rate last postseason—which suggested he was trying to do too much of the scoring himself—was troubling. According to Basketball-Reference, it has been 30 years since a title-winning club's top scorer posted a playoff-assist rate of less than 10%.
Whatever the case may be, one thing is certain: The Pacers won't make it easy for Anthony and the Knicks.
1/16/2014 7:18 PM