Blazers news: Carmelo Anthony worked on pick-and-pop, pick-and-roll defense prior to debut

Before debuting with the Blazers, Carmelo Anthony spent time working on his pick-and-roll and pick-and-pop defense.

Carmelo Anthony had only a handful of days to prepare himself for his return to the NBA as a member of the Portland Trail Blazers. The team reportedly staged workouts before he made his season debut against the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday, which his trainer, Alex Bazzell, ensured would put him in the best position to succeed.

First was ensuring his body was ready for the minutes he would soon endure. Bazzell was familiar with the Blazers' offense and he made sure his client was ready for it.

“It was just a completely different mindset (in workouts leading up to the Portland debut) because before it was just about maintenance. Not overdoing it, keeping his body fresh but not running it into the ground,” Bazzell told SNY's Ian Begley. “Once we got that call, we did five workouts in three days. So we kind of crammed in everything. But the workouts were much more specific because I actually knew the offense of what Portland was going to run and the touches that he was going to get. The first workout was beating on his body a little bit. He'd drive and we'd put a shoulder in him. Just to see how his body was going to bounce back. And then get his cardio up.”

The came an emphasis on shooting off the catch, something Melo would find himself doing more and more with the likes of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum dominating the ball. Besides that, Bazzell had Anthony work in two-on-two drills for five-minute lapses where he would defend ball screens, in transition, work as the screener in pick-and-pop plays and operate in the mid-post.

Melo's first bucket went in after executing a pick-and-pop play, a left wing 3-pointer only a minute and 30 seconds into the game.

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Though he was a foul minus-20 during his first 24 minutes of action, Anthony did particularly well for a player that has been out of the NBA floor for more than a full calendar year. His integration to the Blazers will come slowly, but the organization is hoping he can contribute soon enough to get them out of a 5-10 start to the season.