Enes Kanter’s greatest strength is grabbing the missed shots he’s helping create

Maybe you can chalk it up to the lengthy wait between Celtics games, but there has been a lot of chatter about trade talks lately. Of course, the unfeasible Kevin Love rumors have been circulating. Tagging alongside this gossip are ideas centering around Enes Kanter.

Many Boston fans have come to Kanter’s defense. After all, he probably just had his best outing of the season against the Sixers. The most common refrain you will hear from supporters sounds something like, “He’s a beast on the glass, we get so many extra offensive possessions from him.” Or, “He can get a bucket down low when we need one.”

This is true, but things may not always be what they seem. Yes, Kanter has good touch in the paint and is a mainstay among the league leaders for offensive rebounds. He deserves credit where credit is due.

But how does this heavy-footed, below the rim player with a subpar vertical jump and uninspiring positional wingspan (7-foot-1) get so many of these boards? Oddly, my search for the answer began with Nerlens Noel.

My affinity for Noel is well known. About once a week I watch film on his pick and roll gravity and grow jealous that Kanter is not an above the rim player. Then, I shift my eyes towards Kanter’s film and grow sad.

He does not have an ounce of roll gravity. Not only does the tape show Kanter’s lack of vertical bounce but, the stats demonstrate this too. He has 24 made dunks over the last two seasons. Daniel Theis had 52 just last year.

In layman’s terms, when Kanter rolls after a screen, defending bigs do not have to worry about him catching a lob due to a lack of vertical leaping ability. Therefore, bigs can focus on stopping the attacking ballhandler and trust that their teammates will pick up Kanter.

Before the connection between offensive rebounding and lack of roll gravity is fused, watch an example of this detriment to the Celtic’s offense.

Theoretically, Kevin Knox should be worried that the rolling big can receive a lob from Kemba Walker. Alas, it is Enes Kanter we are talking about. Knox takes away Walker’s path to a left side reverse layup; one of the point guard’s specialties. Walker’s attempt is doomed because of Kanter’s inability to draw the requisite attention for opening a lane.

This next clip emphasizes the point further. After a screen for Walker, Kanter rolls to the rim. If Kanter were replaced by someone like Noel, Jarrett Allen would have a decision to make. Should he prevent the lob or stick with Walker?

Instead, Allen gets to play effective 1-on-2 defense because Kanter is not a lob threat. Walker realizes he cannot get past the behemoth and his afro. Kanter receives a pass and the most humiliating block of the season.

So, how does this relate to offensive rebounds? As expounded previously, Kanter often does not unclog lanes for drivers. Defenders are free to focus on preventing the ballhandler from scoring. This frequently leaves Kanter alone for offensive boards, as seen below.

Taj Gibson could care less that Kanter is in the dunker spot. Perhaps he would have thought differently if a certain Oklahoma City backup center was in that spot. Regardless, Kanter gets the board over the smaller Dennis Smith Jr.

To boot, he misses the layup because he does not have the capability of slamming it home. In all fairness, Kanter does snag some offensive boards because his wide, strong frame is hard to shove out of the way. Still, many of them come when the defense is focused on the driving ballhandler.

Fortunately, all of my Kanter criticism can be captured in one tidy piece of 6-second film. Watch the clip below and focus on the defenders’ lack of concern with Kanter.

Above, Jaylen Brown got solid challenges from two defenders, one of them being Mitchell Robinson who completely abandoned Kanter. Kanter then had the audacity to grow physically frustrated that Brown did not toss him the ball, despite him not being in a position to score.

All Kanter had to do after the miss was shove aside the 6-foot-5 Damyean Dotson to grab the board. Then – and I hate to belabor the point – Kanter got rejected by Knox because he did not have the lift to dunk that ball from a standstill during live action.

Are there times when I am too hard on our Turkish friend? Sure. He brings grit, is an awesome teammate and grabbing boards is a good thing. Still, I know my challenge while writing this piece. I have to convince readers that many of Kanter’s offensive boards are a result of a pick and roll gone wrong.

Allow me one final plea. The Celtics have a handful of either crafty or explosive pick and roll handlers. An injection of roll gravity would transform misses into makes and eliminate many of the offensive boards that Kanter has to snag. Ask yourself the following question. Do you want to play a center whose greatest strength is grabbing the missed shots that he may have had a hand in creating?