(Getty Images) Carmelo Anthony
Carmelo Anthony is officially a Houston Rocket and he’s looking to prove his worth and help the franchise reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 1995. With that said, check out Carmelo Anthony’s first points as a Houston Rocket via this beautiful through the legs outlet pass from Chris Paul.
VIDEO: Carmelo Anthony drills the trey for his first bucket with the Rockets. 🚀 t.co/fBoyhRXjEK
The Houston Rockets are currently taking on the Memphis Grizzlies in Birmingham, Alabama in a game being called ‘The Iron City Showdown’. This is the first time that a professional basketball game has been played in the city of Birmingham in twelve years.
The Rockets were able to easily beat the Memphis Grizzlies, 131-115 in their first preseason game.
Carmelo Anthony’s Struggle To Remain Elite
Last year, Melo suited up for the Oklahoma City Thunder alongside Russell Westbrook and Paul George. As the season progressed, Anthony took a backseat to both players becoming the Thunder’s third scoring option and never hid his dissatisfaction with his role on the team from the general public.
His numbers reflected his disposition as he averaged career lows across the stats sheet. Last season, Carmelo Anthony averaged a total of 16.2 points per game on 40% shooting, 5.8 rebounds per game, and a dismal 1.3 assists per game proving his lack of efficient ball distribution with his then teammates.
With Melo’s unwillingness to adjust to the Thunder’s culture of allowing Russell Westbrook to be ball dominant, his shot selection became an internal team conflict that needed to be addressed. Despite knowing that his shooting percentages from the field were suffering, he continued to make poor decisions on the offensive side of the court while also performing lackluster defensively forcing coach Mike D’Antoni to reduce his minutes causing Melo to average a career low of 32.1 minutes per game.
Carmelo Anthony’s First Ever Houston Rockets Highlight Reel
In Carmelo’s debut as a Houston Rocket, he displayed the beautiful shooting touch we’ve become accustomed to as he was able to put in 13 points in a limited amount of minutes.
Melo’s Next Chapter As A Houston Rocket
Now, Carmelo Anthony has the opportunity to play with close friends in Chris Paul and James Harden on a team that is highly capable of shocking the entire basketball realm and becoming the 2019 NBA Champions. With Anthony determined to rebrand himself as a team player, there’s no better opportunity than now for the 10x NBA All-Star to prove to the masses and himself that he is still amongst the best of today’s NBA talent.
And with arguably the most skilled ball distributor in the game in Chris Paul looking to get him shots and another sharp-shooting option in James Harden, Melo can finally get back to doing what he does best at this stage of his career, getting buckets.
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WATCH: Carmelo Anthony’s Full Highlights In His Rockets Debut