Last season, Carmelo Anthony got 10.6 percent of his shots as the pick-and-roll ball handler and it was one of his most effective weapons (he shot 47.9 percent and scored an impressive 1.07 points per possession). Still that was less shot attempts than he got through isolation (27.1 percent), post ups (20.8 percent) and even as a spot-up shooter (14.6 percent).
That 10.6 percent was up slightly from the 7.9 percent the year before, and if you go back it was more than the 7.7 percent of chances he got on the P&R his last season in Denver. (All stats via Synergy Sports).
But Anthony wants more.
That’s what he told Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com.
“I want to continue doing that and figuring that part out, but that comes along with the territory and the game situation,” he said. “It’s all about just trying to tighten up those screws that you already have, and just having fun with it.”
He should get more chances because maybe with it he will drive and attack more — Anthony is far more efficient when he attacks compared to when he settles and pulls up for a jumper.
With Tyson Chandler on the roster the Knicks have one of the better pick-setting bigs in the game (and he can finish on the roll if you get him the rock). Having Chandler out setting picks clears the lane for drives. The Knicks need to take advantage of this with ‘Melo, and maybe even run some 4/3 pick-and-rolls with Metta World Peace setting the screen (he can do that well and is a threat to pop out to the arc). You can tinker with that in the preseason.
If it means fewer isolation sets and more players moving and involved, if it means more attacking Carmelo, the Knicks should do it. They need to have guys knock down shots to make the spacing work around it, but anything they can do that makes the offense more efficient they should do. Having both Raymond Felton and ‘Melo effective at the pick-and-roll is just another weapon Mike Woodson should exploit.
