Grantland: Kanter #3 in rookie defensive rankings
https://www.grantland.com/story/_/i...ing-kyrie-irving-enes-kanter-ricky-rubio-more
3. Enes Kanter
Kanter is still a raw player in many ways. He is advanced, however, in one aspect of the game, and that is showing defensively on pick-and-roll plays. According to Synergy Sports, when Kanter shows against pick-and-roll ball handlers, teams score just 0.622 points per possession. That puts him in the top 15 percent of pick-and-roll defenders. Teams also shoot 32 percent and commit turnovers 24.4 percent of the time when Kanter guards ball screens. And Kanter's sample size is significant — 45.6 percent of his defensive possessions include him showing against ball screens.
[video=youtube_share;skoFJvbtX4w]https://youtu.be/skoFJvbtX4w
Kanter doesn't show hard against pick-and-roll plays, which is very smart because Kanter isn't that quick. Instead, the Jazz let Kanter play a zone of sorts when he shows. He tends to fall back and stay in front of the ball handler. By doing so, he has been effective at stopping dribble penetration. Kanter either forces the ball handler to pick up his dribble or he uses his size to stay in front and bother the driving player's pass attempts.
https://www.grantland.com/story/_/i...ing-kyrie-irving-enes-kanter-ricky-rubio-more
3. Enes Kanter
Kanter is still a raw player in many ways. He is advanced, however, in one aspect of the game, and that is showing defensively on pick-and-roll plays. According to Synergy Sports, when Kanter shows against pick-and-roll ball handlers, teams score just 0.622 points per possession. That puts him in the top 15 percent of pick-and-roll defenders. Teams also shoot 32 percent and commit turnovers 24.4 percent of the time when Kanter guards ball screens. And Kanter's sample size is significant — 45.6 percent of his defensive possessions include him showing against ball screens.
[video=youtube_share;skoFJvbtX4w]https://youtu.be/skoFJvbtX4w
Kanter doesn't show hard against pick-and-roll plays, which is very smart because Kanter isn't that quick. Instead, the Jazz let Kanter play a zone of sorts when he shows. He tends to fall back and stay in front of the ball handler. By doing so, he has been effective at stopping dribble penetration. Kanter either forces the ball handler to pick up his dribble or he uses his size to stay in front and bother the driving player's pass attempts.