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Carmelo Anthony has been given one last chance to finish out his NBA career on a high note, and there's likely no better team to do it than with the Portland Trail Blazers. The narrative of his refusal to take on a bench role can be quickly put in pause, given the opportunity ahead.
Injuries to Zach Collins, Pau Gasol, and Jusuf Nurkic have left the Blazers with very few frontcourt options besides Anthony Tolliver, Skal Labissiere, and Hassan Whiteside.
Enter Carmelo Anthony, who can soon find himself a starter if he's willing to play at power forward full time.
Melo has the experience and acumen to start over Tolliver and Labissiere, two career-long bench players, along with the poise and clutch mentality that general manager Neil Olshey expects he will bring to the table.
Anthony might not be the 20-point-a-night type of scorer he was during his first 14 seasons, but he is undoubtedly good for 15 points a night if given the right minutes. And there lays the focal point of where his success lays in the balance.
Head coach Terry Stotts might have to resort to George Karl-esque antics to keep Anthony motivated and accountable, dangling goals for him to meet during each game, which if not met, could soon bring him to the bench.
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Much like Karl did during Melo's early days with the Denver Nuggets, the gifted scorer had to do something other than get buckets to stay on the floor, whether that was rebounding, defending, or facilitating for his teammates. Karl infamously told Anthony that for every 10 post-ups, he could get 10 jumpers every game.
That level of accountability is needed for Anthony, especially at this point of his career — considering that a disgraceful 1-for-11 shooting night nearly ended his NBA career after being ditched by the Houston Rockets after 10 games in 2018-19.
The Blazers can't expect Anthony to be the sole savior of a 5-9 start to the season, but they can sure use his impact to kickstart some sense of belief and inject players with the juice they need to start hustling for loose balls and ensnare offensive rebounds.
Anthony is a solid points and boards guy for his career, averaging 24 points and 6.5 rebounds through his 16 years in the league. He's also a career 81.1% free-throw shooter who should help in late-game situations.
Melo is no longer trapped under the lunacy of the Rockets, who expected him to become a three-and-D option off the bench. He has joined a team that has a plan on how to best utilize him and can execute it. All that is left is for him to be that solid 15-point, five-rebound a night contributor and become that third scoring option that is reliable and willing to do what it takes to put the Blazers in the right path, no matter the numbers in the stat sheet.
