The Portland Trail Blazers decided to bring aboard veteran Carmelo Anthony, primarily for his scoring ability. During Saturday's defeat to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Anthony went for 11 points on 5-for-15 shooting, and he shot 0-for-8 from 3-point range.
The majority of those looks were wide open, and Melo knows he missed an opportunity for a big game:
“I would bet anything if we get those same type shots on any given night, we make them.” Anthony said after the game, per Jason Quick of The Athletic. “I mean, the shots were just wide open; I know I was wide open.”
The loss dropped Portland to 5-12 on the season, further propelling them down the Western Conference standings. The team is attempting to find lightning in a bottle from Anthony, who they hope can jumpstart their offense alongside Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum.
From his debut Tuesday, Anthony has been among the starting five and has finished in double figures in each of his first three contests. He has taken a combined 44 shots from the field, 16 of which have been from behind the 3-point arc. Five of those looks from deep have gone down.
It has been a long journey back to starting relevance in the league for Anthony, who was released by the Rockets early last season after coming off the bench. The last time the 10-time All-Star was a full-time starter came in 2017-18 with the Oklahoma City Thunder, a season in which he shot a career-low 40.4 percent from the field overall. Portland appears content with handing Anthony significant minutes, irrespective of his field goal percentage or other flaws.
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