But isolation, even if it's sometimes statistically more efficient than other forms of offense, can have particularly devastating effects in the long-term scope of a game. Non-isolators miss shots due to lack of engagement in the flow of play; defensive effort suffers for similar reasons; shots become more ill-advised because players want to capitalize on their limited touches.
And that's what's so difficult about designing a Carmelo Anthony-led offense. How do you balance his strongest asset against the integration of the entire team? At the beginning of last season, the offense flowed through, instead of towards, isolation. If guarded one-on-one with little to no help, Melo would eat his defender alive. If doubled or pressured with weak side rotation, he would kick the ball out for three-point shots or secondary penetration.
But once those shots stopped falling (Jason Kidd's, most notably) Anthony stopped trusting teammates. With less trust came more possessions ending in isolation, which in turn fueled the perimeter shooting struggles, which fueled more isolation, and so on. Indiana funneled New York towards this cycle in the second round of the playoffs, and it eventually helped the Pacers grind the Knicks offense to a halt.