Portland Trail Blazers forward Carmelo Anthony came out scorching hot off the bench in their preseason opener against the Sacramento Kings. His impressive performance eventually caught the attention of his Banana Boat crewmate in Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James. The NBA icon gave a shoutout for him on Twitter.
WALKING BUCKET!!!!! @carmeloanthony tough!! 😤😤😤 https://t.co/H2Kl0Ra6NE
— LeBron James (@KingJames) December 12, 2020
Anthony first came to Portland midway through the 2019-2020 season where he was inked to a one-year contract. He was acquired to serve as additional firepower for their bid for a playoff spot after starting the season on the wrong foot.
He managed to prove his naysayers wrong, especially in the Orlando Bubble where he helped the Blazers snag the eighth and final playoff seat in the Western Conference. After losing to the Lakers in the first round, the Blazers ultimately decided to keep Anthony for another season.
The 10-time All-Star recently showed that he can still produce and be effective on the floor as he now settles into a bench role for the first time in his career. He balled out with 21 points on 8/13 shooting from the field and a perfect 3/3 from beyond the arc with four rebounds and two assists in 23 minutes played.
Even with the team's top players in Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum both playing lightly, the Blazers still managed to blow out the Kings via a 127-102 victory. Meanwhile, LeBron James didn't suit up in the Lakers' first preseason game against the Los Angeles Clippers where they still won on an 87-81 outcome.
Both veterans are slated to go head-to-head with each other when the Lakers host the Blazers on Dec. 28 in regular-season proceedings.
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