New York Knicks: 5 Statistics to Help You Remain Optimistic

4. Carmelo Anthony’s Defense

If you poll 10 fans of the NBA, at least nine of them will give you the same evaluation of Carmelo Anthony’s game. He’s an all-time scorer who can put up points in any number of ways, but rarely commits himself to putting forth an adequate effort on defense.

After 12 long seasons of inconsistency, Anthony has taken that criticism to heart in year 13.

Merely looking at the basic statistics won’t tell the story of how hard Anthony has worked defensively. His 8.0 rebounds per game are impressive, but it’s the way he’s asserted himself as a more vocal and committed player on defense that truly matters.

The results can be seen in the fact that Anthony is limiting opponents to 40.2 percent shooting from the field when he’s the primary defender, per NBA.com.

Anthony isn’t doing this against scrubs; he’s taking on the player at his position and latching onto them for four quarters. For perspective, his opponents have an average field goal percentage of 45.1 percent—a very efficient mark.

In other words, Anthony is forcing a decline of nearly 5.0 percent in field goal percentage when he’s the primary defender—a borderline elite number.

Next: The Future