Latest news with #scoring
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Brendan Haywood says the greatest performance he ever saw came from Carmelo Anthony: "It was all mid-range jumpers"
Brendan Haywood says the greatest performance he ever saw came from Carmelo Anthony: "It was all mid-range jumpers" originally appeared on Basketball Network. Brendan Haywood played 13 years in the NBA from 2001-02 to 2014-15. Advertisement During his era, he played against some of the greatest scorers to ever grace the NBA hardwood, like Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Carmelo Anthony, Tracy McGrady and he was even on the same team with a Washington Wizards version of Michael Jordan When it comes to the greatest performance he's ever witnessed from those legends, Haywood told Dan Patrick on the latter's podcast that it's a toss-up between Tracy McGrady and Carmelo Anthony, who both scored 62 points against his teams. "It's either Tracy or Carmelo. Tracy had 60-plus on us, too. And that was when Tracy was in Orlando. And Carmelo had 60 on us in the Garden. I would probably say it's Carmelo because it was all mid-range jumpers," said Haywood. Both McGrady and Anthony dropped 62 points on Haywood's teams On March 10, 2004, McGrady dropped 62 points on a Wizards team that Haywood played on. In that game, T-Mac shot 20-37 from the field and was 5-14 from the 3-point distance and 17-26 from the free throw line as his Magic defeated the Wizards 108-99. Advertisement Towards the end of Brendan's NBA career, he witnessed Carmelo explode for 62 points against his Charlotte Bobcats team on January 24, 2014, at Madison Square Garden. Melo shot 24-35 from the field and 10-10 from the foul line. However, contrary to Haywood's statement that it was all midrange, Melo made six out of 10 3-point attempts in the game. But while it was not the midrange clinic that Brendan talked about, it was no doubt an incredible display of isolation skills. "When Carmelo gets hot, there's nothing (you can do)... It's all jabs, series, jabs, pump fakes, step-through, spin moves. When Carmelo has a 60, it's a loud 60 because it's all one-on-one iso. Nobody's creating any shots for him. He is getting it all out the mud and it's a long night," added Brendan. Advertisement Related: "That was a huge compliment for me" - Hakeem Olajuwon was proud that LeBron James asked him for help after his lowest NBA moment Carmelo is a pure bucket-getter Aside from Anthony's unmatched one-on-one skills and his silky smooth shooting touch, what also made him an incredible scorer was his mindset. As former NBA forward Thaddeus Young once said, every time Melo stepped on a basketball, he only had one goal in mind: scoring the basketball. "Melo was difficult just because, man, he live the whole game like this MF just trying to get a bucket the whole game, you know what I'm saying?" Young stated. Advertisement "At least you can depend on Dirk to pass a little bit, you know what I'm saying? Melo trying to get to it," he pointed out. When Anthony dropped 62 on Haywood's Bobcats in 2014, he did so with zero assists, proving Young's statement correct. The incoming 2025 Hall of Famer has a career assists average of 2.7 per game only. Meanwhile, McGrady was a more willing passer as he averaged 4.4 assists per game during his 15-year NBA tenure. T-Mac also had five assists the night when he scored 62. Anthony had an insane usage rate of 49.5 percent in that game while McGrady's usage during his 62-point performance was at 47.5. On the other hand, Melo's true shooting percentage that night was 78.7 percent against McGrady's 64.0 percent, making it the more efficient outing. Related: "I think about all that stuff" - Carmelo Anthony admits not winning the championship with the Knicks bothers him This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 20, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Luka Doncic on why it's easier to score in the NBA than in Europe
Over the last several years, the NBA has become a fast-paced, high-scoring league. As opposed to the 1990s and 2000s, when many, if not most, teams averaged under 100 points a game, the average team these days clocks in at over 110 points a game. Teams look to run and get early offense a lot more than they did some 20 years ago, and although the league has gradually allowed a little more physicality over the last couple of years, the game is still less physical than it was in the 1990s. Advertisement There is a difference between today's NBA and the type of pro basketball played in Europe, where the game is more physical and has slightly different rules. Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic started playing professionally overseas at a young age, and early in his NBA career, he said it is easier to score in the NBA than it is in Europe. During a recent episode of the "Mind the Game" podcast, he elaborated on that comment. 'But I think in Europe, watching the Euro League now and before, it's more about the team and teamwork,' Doncic said. 'But it's different rules in the NBA, I've always said that. The reason I said it's easier to score in the NBA is because it's just different rules. You have a lot more spacing, you have more minutes. It's eight more minutes, anything can happen in eight minutes. So it's just because of that. In Europe if you get a big guy, for example like Edy Tavares, he plays in Madrid. He's just standing in the paint and he can stand in the paint and he's [7'3″], it's hard to score on that. It's impossible. Here, you can't do that because it's a three-second violation.' In Europe, defensive players are allowed to stand in the paint as long as they wish, unlike in the NBA, where rules state they can be in the paint for a maximum of three seconds. That makes it a lot easier for players to protect the rim defensively. Some have called for the NBA to get rid of its defensive three-second rule. However, eliminating such a rule would not only make it much easier to defend, possibly to the point of greatly lowering scores across the league, but it would go against decades of not allowing players to camp out in the lane. This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Luka Doncic on why it's easier to score in the NBA than in Europe
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Long-Time NBA Forward Has Clear Stance on Carmelo Anthony's Nuggets Tenure
Long-Time NBA Forward Has Clear Stance on Carmelo Anthony's Nuggets Tenure originally appeared on Athlon Sports. From his peak from 2005 to 2017, during stints with both the Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony was one of the best scorers in the NBA. Advertisement One of the true three-level scorers in the league, he could get a bucket from anywhere. Nicolas Batum has long been one of the best defenders in the NBA, and has guarded players like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Durant, and other elite scorers. However, Anthony's offensive versatility gave Batum more trouble than anyone else. Mar 29, 2010; Dallas, TX, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony (15) smiles after a foul during the game against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Arena. The Mavs beat the Nuggets 109-93© Matthew Emmons-Imagn Images Between 2005 and 2010, in Denver, Anthony averaged 26.4 points on 47.1 percent shooting from the floor. "Denver Melo was crazy, like at the beginning of my career," detailed Nicolas Batum. "So I was young, I was skinny, and my job was starting, but I had to guard the best opponent and Denver Melo, I always said, he had everything. He was strong first but post up, drive, 3s, pull up, iso, jab, like turnaround, bully ball, like everything." Advertisement Out of everyone Batum had to guard, Melo was the biggest handful. "I always say he's the toughest guy I had to guard in my career." Batum, unlike Anthony, is still playing and expects to suit up for the Los Angeles Clippers this season. He and Anthony played against each other in the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games, although Anthony and Team USA got the best of France in both matchups. Check out the Inside the Nuggets homepage for more news, analysis, and must-read articles. Related: Nuggets Listed as Favorites to Land All-Defensive Wing Behind Lakers, Mavericks Related: Nuggets Predicted to Trade Star Forward in 3-Team Mock Trade Involving Lakers, Nets This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 7, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Livingston 1-1 Ross County: Analysis
County's problem this season has been scoring goals. The loss of top scorer Simon Murray - who went on to score 16 in the Premiership for Dundee - and assist king Yan Dhanda last summer was always going to be tough to overcome. However, Don Cowie's use of three centre-backs plus two wing-backs who are defenders rather than wide players means they struggle to get into decent crossing positions. Without the injured Noah Chilvers, they also seriously lack a creative and scoring threat from midfield, with much of the burden falling to striker Hale. They work hard and get stuck in, but it has not proven enough as a 10-game winless run - with seven defeats - at the wrong time of the season illustrates. And while they have the memories of surviving in Dingwall in the last two campaigns, this feels different. One, they face a Livingston side with lots of top-flight experience, who have already beaten them this season and who last conceded more than once in a game in March. And two, it is hard to see who is going to step up to and provide the goals they need, given they have only scored more than once in a game twice since February.
BBC News
22-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Livingston 1-1 Ross County: Analysis
County's problem this season has been scoring loss of top scorer Simon Murray - who went on to score 16 in the Premiership for Dundee - and assist king Yan Dhanda last summer was always going to be tough to Don Cowie's use of three centre-backs plus two wing-backs who are defenders rather than wide players means they struggle to get into decent crossing the injured Noah Chilvers, they also seriously lack a creative and scoring threat from midfield, with much of the burden falling to striker work hard and get stuck in, but it has not proven enough as a 10-game winless run - with seven defeats - at the wrong time of the season while they have the memories of surviving in Dingwall in the last two campaigns, this feels they face a Livingston side with lots of top-flight experience, who have already beaten them this season and who last conceded more than once in a game in two, it is hard to see who is going to step up to and provide the goals they need, given they have only scored more than once in a game twice since February.
