Enes Kanter was not happy in Utah. With no one to mask his flaws and Rudy Gobert looming as a potential replacement, he asked for a trade and the Jazz obliged. Since arriving at Oklahoma City he's showing why he was the third pick in the 2011 draft, displaying his offensive talent and helping the Thunder's playoffs hopes stay afloat. Yet a closer look to his performance suggests he still has a lot of growing to do as a player despite his gaudy numbers.
Can Enes Kanter help save the Thunder with Kevin Durant out?
The Turkish center is proving he can produce at a high level on offense but his defensive shortcomings limit his impact.
Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Kanter is averaging 16.5 points and 10.4 rebounds in his new team and is scoring efficiently now that he has abandoned his jumper. The Jazz wanted him to be able to stretch the floor, since he was sharing the court with another inside scorer in Derrick Favors and Kanter didn't project to be a rim protector. As a result, he was forced to float around the perimeter instead of playing to his strengths. In his time with the Jazz, only 52.6 of his shot attempts came within the restricted area. With the Thunder, that number has climbed to 73.7 percent, which explains the jump in his field goal percentage since the trade.
Playing closer to the rim has resulted in an increase in the number of offensive rebounds and free throws Kanter gets. Kanter is also posting up more and excelling, ranking in the 87th percentile in the league since joining the Thunder. To put it in simple terms, all he needed to unleash his potential as an offensive player was the opportunity to play like a traditional big man. Oklahoma City is reaping the benefits, scoring 109.7 points per 100 possessions with Kanter on the court, over five more than the team’s average.
Defensively is where Kanter still hasn't found his bearings. The Thunder only outscore opponents by .6 points with Kanter playing because everything he does for the team on offense, they give back on defense when he's on the court. Opponents know he's not a rim protector (he allows 52.4 percent on shots he defends at the rim), so they go into attack mode, taking almost four percent more close shots when he's on the court as opposed to off, according to the league's media stats site. That's the area in which the Thunder will miss Kendrick Perkins, the player they traded for Kanter, now that Serge Ibaka is injured.
It's not uncommon for young big men to struggle defensively and Kanter is too big to continue averaging under a block per game for much longer. He simply needs to adjust to a new role after having Derrick Favors behind him in Utah and accept the responsibility that comes with being a defensive anchor. Ideally, that would have happened over time as Ibaka and Steven Adams handled the role, but Oklahoma City needs him to step up right now. So far the results have not been encouraging -- any pairing of Kanter and another big allows more points than the team does on average.
Kanter is showing that he is a gifted offensive player who can be efficient on a large role and offer a post presence on a good team. The next step -- and what could end up determining whether he stays in Oklahoma City after this season -- will be to improve enough on defense to not actively hurt his team on that end. Kanter is just 22 years old, but the sooner it happens, the better the Thunder’s chances will be to get to the playoffs and make some noise.
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