Six blocks is an awful lot of defense in one game for someone who supposedly stinks at it.
But when discussing Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter, it’s a description that’s both accurate — and not.
After a 13-point, 14-rebound, 6-block outing against the Charlotte Hornets on New Year’s Eve, it probably isn’t fair to say the Turkish big man is a bad defender.
Except, of course, on pick-and-rolls, and covering smaller, quicker defenders.
Kanter’s weakness at defending the NBA staple is a problem to be sure, but it’s also not exactly a revelation his utility shrinks against teams able to exploit that fault in his game.
A good example can be seen below when he tries to recover to defend Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry after dropping on pick-and-roll coverage in Sunday’s loss to the Raps:
Lowry finds himself wide open for an easy jumper the slow-footed Kanter couldn’t possibly defend through no fault of his own — he’s just not built to be that kind of player.
The big man isn’t especially good guarding down in transition either, as can be seen in the clip below where he does his best to cover Lowry again here:
Kanter is trying hard to stay in front of Lowry, but his feet are just not fast enough.
The results go how most of us would expect — not well.
Instead, Boston deploys the 6-foot-10 big man in lineups where he’ll succeed, and success has been coming over the last few games, in part due to how his strengths compliment the other Celtics on the floor.
His boards erase second-chance points on one end, and clean up misses on the other (admittedly, some of which are his own). He also boosts second unit scoring on Boston’s rookie-heavy roster, and his blocks aren’t the usual deployment of length and verticality leaned on by most NBA bigs, either.
Instead, as the Athletic’s Jared Weiss notes, the majority of Kanter’s rejections “tend to come from great defensive technique and incredible hand-eye coordination” as can be seen in the clip below, where Charlotte reserve wing Malik Monk turns the ball over after disrespecting Kanter’s hands:
Unlike Lowry, Monk makes the mistake of attempting to score on Kanter near-basket, instead of using his size and speed against him; teams which are unwilling or unable to do the same are where the big man will be earning his paycheck.
In another play in the New Year’s Eve win over the Hornets, you can see Kanter poke away the ball from an attacking P.J. Washington:
Slower-footed Washington makes the same mistake as Monk despite being a solid shooter, and tries to challenge Kanter inside while Hayward and Tatum seal off the outlets.
Left with no choice, Washington goes right to the rack, and the Turkish big man forces the turnover with ease.
While teams who lean on the pick and roll will make getting Kanter playing time hard, particularly in the playoffs when the game slows down, he can still provide minutes in certain matchups that will help the team throughout the regular season.
His excellence in that role was on display Tuesday night, even earning himself a new nickname from his teammates, “Stop Sign” — only one of several jokes fellow Celtics bestowed on Kanter after his six-block game.
This is what I get from Tacko after the game 😂 pic.twitter.com/MN08OEta27
— Enes Kanter (@EnesKanter) December 31, 2019
“Six blocks? That’s it? And fourth in rebounds? Wow, that’s a shame,” said two way center Tacko Fall, who has made a name for himself grinding out similar stat lines in the G League and in college.
Kanter, for his part, took head coach Brad Stevens admonishments to step up defensive buy-in to heart, which has shown up in the best defensive rating of his career (100 this season compared a career 108).
Even if much of that boost can be attributed to his presence on a top-five defense over much of the season, it’s still a positive sign that a player who is averaging nearly 18 minutes per contest.
Mr. Stop Sign
Mr. MVP
Mr. Double-Double@EnesKanter earned himself last night's @biofreeze Performer of the Game pic.twitter.com/pAv64CXsU6— Boston Celtics (@celtics) January 1, 2020
While the jury is still out on how much the 27-year-old center will be able to contribute to a deep postseason run for Boston, April is a long way off, and there are many games and teams where Kanter’s quick hands will help.
And with the top of the Eastern Conference more competitive than it has been in years, the outspoken big man’s presence will be key.
“We hope he’s going to continue to be a stop sign for us,” teammate Gordon Hayward said.
“We’re going to need him on that end.”
Special thanks to Off the Glass’ Matt Esposito and Tomasz Kordylewski for the Kanter defensive clips.