Carmelo Anthony's debut drew mixed reactions after a 115-104 loss to the short-handed New Orleans Pelicans. The new Portland Trail Blazers forward got the nod to start only hours ahead of his season debut, a move most believed was due to Damian Lillard's absence from the lineup due to back spasms.
In a post-game media availability, Anthony hinted that might not have been the case — noting the lack of communication in his previous two stints (with the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Houston Rockets) was what caused his quick parting of ways. Melo praised the Blazers for their transparency, even dropping a nugget, saying they intended for him to start from the jump.
“It's not nothing I won't be willing to do, but just let me know up front, and whatever it is, just let me know. Put it all on the table and we go from there,” said Anthony after the loss, according to ESPN's Andrew Lopez. “Nothing was ever questioned. It was ‘OK, we want you to come in, we want you to play, we want you to start, we want you to get going.'
“That was that and that was a big reason why I made that decision to come.”
The narrative of Melo being a bench guy has run strong for two years now, but in the case of the Blazers, that isn't as true. Portland is without second-year talent Zach Collins at power forward and only had Skal Labissiere and Anthony Tolliver as potential fill-ins at the position. With a 7-footer in Hassan Whiteside defending the paint, head coach Terry Stotts could afford to have the 6-foot-8 Anthony at the four-spot, sacrificing length and defense for an offensive punch.
Melo didn't fare all that well, making only 4-of-14 from the floor en route to his 10 points, while logging a team-worst minus-20 in his 24 minutes of play. While all the defensive miscues can't be attributed to him, he certainly won't be helping much on that end of the court, even if he does get starter minutes.
Follow Us
Subscribe