In case you haven’t noticed yet, Ryan Anderson is really good. Sure, the phrase “breakout performance” could be applied to his 30 point, seven rebound effort against New York, but Anderson has been quietly lighting it up all season. He currently owns a 25.95 PER a mark that puts him eighth in the league.

Looking back through yesterday’s game, 21 of Anderson’s 30 points came from behind the arc (in 13 attempts). While there is a tendency to rate every 3-point shot as being equal, they often come in a variety of ways. Anderson’s case is no exception.

The first of his seven 3s came in a pick and pop situation out of transition in the second quarter. Chris Duhon dribbles right off a double ball screen set by both Anderson and Glen Davis. As Davis rolls, Anderson pops toward the left wing. Duhon throws the ball back and the floodgates open.

Late in second, Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson engage in a middle pick and roll. This time, Anderson and JJ Redick combine for some nifty off-ball movement and shape up behind Howard’s roll to the rim. Redick cuts hard to the right wing while Anderson simple circles from the short corner to outside the 3-point line. Nelson creases (cross-grains back to the middle) and finds Anderson for a nice spot-up opportunity.

The next clip is out of the Magic’s “Horns” series (Horns/A-set alignment has two bigs at elbows and two wings in the corners). Anderson catches a Duhon pass on the left elbow and let’s Duhon cut through before performing a dribble hand-off with Hedo Turkoglu rising up from the corner. Turkoglu keeps coming hard toward the middle of the court toward another screen, this time from Howard.
Pay attention to Anderson’s subtle movement here. After the exchange with Turkoglu, Anderson doesn’t drift and waits for Turkoglu to come off the Howard screen. Carmelo Anthony, being the lone weakside defender, must jam Howard’s dive to the rim. This frees Anderson to cut or fill-behind Turkoglu’s drive. With Anthony caught down low from a combination of Howard’s roll and Turkoglu’s penetration, Anderson has a clean look at a 3 from top of the key and drains it.

Anderson’s final 3-point make of the night comes off a transition push. Running the right lane in a delayed break, Anderson and Nelson engage in a quick give-and-go that baits Iman Shumpert to jump at a potential steal. Anderson reads space well and slides toward the corner to receive the return pass from Nelson and put the Magic up five late in the fourth.

If the Magic are to make a push for a championship) Anderson will be a major reason why. While Stan Van Gundy does an excellent job of putting him in good spots, Anderson still has to make the shots. Should he continue to do so at such a blistering rate, D12 may have to rethink his plans to leave.

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