The year? 1891. Stanford University just opened its doors, basketball was just invented and we’re in the tail end of the Gilded Age, and the start of the Gay nineties and the Progressive Era. The first escalator was invented that year as a way to convey people around without them moving their feet. Oddly enough, that was how you moved the basketball in 1891 because dribbling, as we understand it, was not yet a part of hoops.
These days, O.G. Anunoby is lurking around the Raptors defense like the most dangerous defender since the games where Kawhi Leonard felt inclined to dial it up. We’re just waiting on Charles Barkley to lean in with the same complementary quips for Anunoby as he once gave to Leonard after a win on October 30th of 2018.
“Kawhi Leonard had Ben Simmons scared to dribble the ball.”
Charles Barkley
When it comes to Anunoby, most of his steals have been as a ball-hawk jumping a passing lane and nabbing a pick-6 for a dunk. However, the guy gets so many steals that even the leftovers run up huge numbers and those are the ones where he’s plucking the ball away from players. The escape dribbles that offer no escape, the pursuit of open space that is always closed off, and those intrusive limbs of Anunoby’s that poke and prod at a live dribble. As a defender, he is inevitable. Last night was his 10th multi-steal performance of the season, and he was one half of the duo that helped close off a massive part of the court for the Raptors defense last night.
“He’s finally taking it personal, he’s such a nice guy, if he got any meaner it would be really scary.” VanVleet said of Anunoby after the win. “He’s playing like a defensive player of the year.”
A complementary quote from the other half of the Raptors amorphous blob of steals, deflections and blocks. VanVleet and Anunoby combined for 7 steals and 2 blocks over the duration of the win. From the 9:11 mark of the third quarter to the 3:55 mark, the two of them combined for 6 steals. That is… absurd. Whether it was jumping passing lanes, digs on drives, straight up strips and improvisational doubles – the two of them sealed off large portions of the court. Were there defensive breakdowns outside of those two? Of course, but they jumpstarted a comatose offense by breaking out in transition and partially nullified a Houston lineup that had a few ideal matchups on the floor at that time.
“He could probably steal the ball whenever he feels like it, but he’s making the right reads on rotations, he’s making plays on lobs and blocked shots so it just looks great.”
Fred VanVleet on O.G. Anunoby
That run in the third quarter helped solidify the Raptors for the rest of the game, and it confirmed Stephen Silas’ worst fears about the Raptors matchup.
“They’re a huge test. Obviously they do a very good job of turning people over and that’s been an Achilles heel of ours as the season has gone along.” Silas said pregame. “We did some stuff in shoot around, we watched the film, we hope we cleaned it up, but no better teacher than experience. So we’re gonna have to go through a little bit and make sure that we are poised and when we’re getting trapped and we’re seeing different defenses, and spaced correctly so the reads are easier.”
This team might as well have been built in a lab to exacerbate the Rockets turnover problems. VanVleet, who always threatens the top of the leaderboards in hustle stats and traditional defensive metrics, and Anunoby who is leading or 2nd in all major guard or wing-adjace defensive categories. Those two linked their proverbial arms and dared anyone to come over… something about red rover – the heavy hands of VanVleet and impossible length of Anunoby await you.
As the inventor of basketball, James Naismith possessed the authority to change the game as he saw fit while it developed. He didn’t have to make things work within the rules, he just changed them when it proved problematic. “The boys began tackling, kicking and punching in the clinches. Before I could pull them apart, one boy was knocked out, several of them had black eyes and one had a dislocated shoulder. It certainly was murder. After that first match, I was afraid they’d kill each other, but they kept nagging me to let them play again, so I made up some new rules.” Naismith said in a 1939 interview in New York City – believed to be the only existing recording of his voice. After that, Naismith sat down and devised 13 rules for his new game. None of them included dribbling, as that wouldn’t come around until 14 years later.
Anunoby and VanVleet don’t have the power to change the rules of the game by laying pen to paper, but they can put their games on the court and influence change through different means. Defenders certainly feel the game changing when they’re out there.
Have a blessed day.
