Unsurprisingly, Boston has focused its attention heavily on Anthony throughout the series, "loading up on him, " in the words of Knicks guard Jason Kidd, gambling by leaving other perimeter players open.

WSJ: Of Course the Celtics Fought Back

But the Knicks did a solid job early on of exploiting the Grizzlies' defensive strategy, which thrives on packing the paint in hopes that opposing perimeter players will misfire when given open looks from deep.

WSJ: Knicks Waking Up at the Right Time

Paul George (23 points, five rebounds), the league's Most Improved Player, applied suffocating one-on-one defense on Anthony, which allowed other defenders to latch onto the Knicks' perimeter players who'd grown accustomed to seeing open looks from outside.

WSJ: Pacers End Knicks' Season

Caron Butler is one of the better perimeter players in the game, and it was a shame to see him suffer a season-ending knee injury last year, but in an extremely thin market, such a history will not prevent him from signing at least a semi-lucrative contract.

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But after a season-long spike in goal-scoring, teams figured out that if they dropped their skaters back on defense quickly, making the middle of the ice as crowded as a Times Square subway platform, they could keep opposing players on the perimeter of the rink.

WSJ: How the Chicago Blackhawks Became Unbeatable