Robin Lopez's screens and hand-offs make Carmelo Anthony even deadlier

Every big night of Carmelo Anthony scoring is gonna include some isolation brilliance -- some jab-steppin', some spinning and winning, and some bully ball off the dribble. That's fine, and it was a pleasure to watch Melo excel on his own in the Knicks' win over the Wizards.

Melo's got some solid teammates this season, though, and they can each help make his offense flourish. We talked a bit last night about how Melo setting screens and Melo passing out of traps keyed some splendid moments, but even when Melo's calling his own number, there are ways this roster makes his life easier. Here are three plays in which Robin Lopez -- solid screener, patient roll threat, and clean hander-offer -- helped Melo get clean looks:

Some lovely two-man game in there, with Melo dancing around to lose his defender, then snatching a handoff and striking immediately. The high bank shot is just filthy. And that three-pointer in the third was one of a couple huge catch-and-shoot Melo buckets aided by either the threat of a Lopez roll or just a hard (~moving) down screen. One-on-one Melo is a threat many nights, Melo using screens and assists to get his looks is ideal.