While Charles Barkley isn’t a big fan of analytics, former lock down defender Shane Battier certainly is. When discussing how it was guarding Melo, Battier had some interesting things to say.
“I had some success against him,” Battier said. “The numbers really play out with him, and as he’s gotten older, he has not been about reinvention. The last two years I played him, he did exactly what the scouting report said he was going to do, every single time.
Battier went on to elaborate.
A lot of players will deviate — Kobe was so tough in his prime, or Durant or LeBron. But Carmelo, I knew what he was doing. He was on the left block, he’s going to dip his right shoulder and go to his left hand every single time — he travels every time, by the way; he travels every single time. But if I made him use his right hand and go over his left shoulder, he didn’t want to do that. And as a result, I was able to drain his efficiency.”
I wonder how Melo feels about these remarks.
