Paul Pierce Says Carmelo Anthony Is Toughest Cover In Players’ Tribune Post

Kobe Bryant is perhaps the best individual scorer basketball has ever seen. No player in league history boasts the combination of size, athleticism, scoring ability, and playmaking talent of LeBron James. And Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady are the best reasonable facsimiles of Bryant and James that have appeared over the past two decades. But no member of that esteemed quartet is the star who Paul Pierce deems his toughest defensive assignment. In a new post for The Players’ Tribune, the Washington Wizards forward and Boston Celtics legend says no player is harder to guard than Carmelo Anthony.

The future Hall-of-Famer lists Bryant, McGrady, Carter, and James as four of his five most difficult players to stop. But no one, Pierce writes, poses more problems for him than Carmelo.

If I had to single one guy out who is the most difficult player to guard in the league, it would have to be Carmelo. He’s a unique blend of being big, strong, and athletic while also having a world-class shooting touch and a natural ability to get to the rim. That’s what sets him apart — every facet of his game is elite…

In my opinion, his combination of physicality and shooting touch is unmatched in the NBA…

Kobe is one of the best scorers in NBA history, but I don’t have as much trouble with him in the post as I do with Carmelo. LeBron is a great post-up player, but if you get him to settle for the jumper on some nights, you might be able to slow him down if his shot is off. That’s not the case with Melo. If you give him space to shoot, he’ll make it many more times than he misses it.

Interesting.

Anthony certainly isn’t on James’ level as a player, and his peak falls below that of Bryant’s, McGrady’s, and perhaps even Carter’s in our opinion, too.

But as we’ve discussed before, the overall impact and effectiveness of opponents isn’t how players assess individual defensive match-ups. Preventing shots altogether and limiting good looks is the chief goal of all one-on-one defenders, and that Pierce believes Carmelo has an unmatched blend of physicality and touch is enough justification for him putting Anthony tops on this list.

Does it make sense from the outsider’s perspective? Not quite. Dealing with the all-encompassing merit of James or the scoring prowess and passing opportunism of Bryant is a more daunting task for team defenses than ‘Melo’s shot-making, and seems like it should be for individual defenders, too.

But we’re not the one checking these legends, either.

Give Pierce’s post a read in full. His unique insight on five of the game’s most prolific and devastating wing scorers of all-time is worth learning for even casual NBA fans.

What do you think?

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