It has been more than a year — 371 days, in fact — since Carmelo Anthony last appeared in an NBA game. And when he did, it was not a pretty sight. Anthony, playing for the Houston Rockets, had two points on 1-for-11 shooting, missing all six of his 3-point attempts.
That was a game in Oklahoma City, in what was supposed to be a revenge game for Anthony against the Thunder, the team that had dumped him the previous summer after an uninspiring year in OKC. Two days later, Anthony sat out with an alleged illness and it was reported that he and the Rockets were “discussing” his future role with the team.
He would not play for Houston again. He sat in limbo until January 22 when the Rockets unloaded him to Chicago, who waived Anthony on February 1. He would not play in the NBA again, either. At least not until now.
The Blazers stunned the NBA by signing the 16-year veteran to a non-guaranteed contract on Thursday. He will, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, join Portland on its upcoming six-game road trip, which begins Saturday in San Antonio and spans nine days. It will take Portland through Houston and New Orleans, then up against Central Division foes Cleveland, Milwaukee and Chicago.
Considering the Blazers’ desperation, Anthony could be on the floor by Saturday against the Spurs.
The game against Houston, too, should be interesting. Anthony did not exactly depart on good terms. Along the same lines, Portland plays in New York on New Year’s Day. The Blazers will be in Oklahoma City, another former Anthony team, on January 18.
Anthony Hopes to Rescue Blazers Season
He will join a Portland team that entered the season with designs on advancing to the NBA Finals, having pulled off an upset in reaching the conference finals last season.
Portland beat Denver in a seven-game conference semifinal before losing to the Warriors in a sweep in the conference finals. The Blazers accomplished that even after losing big man Jusuf Nurkic to a broken leg. The hope this year was to withstand the Nurkic injury until he could come back in the second part of the season, then make a strong push into the playoffs with an experienced group.
That has not quite gone as planned. The Blazers, after starting 3-2, lost six of their last seven games. That included losses to the lowly Warriors and the Kings. Wednesday’s loss to Toronto appeared to be the last straw for general manager Neal Olshey, who shook up the roster last summer in order to move the team forward.
But a left shoulder injury to forward Zach Collins sapped the Blazers already limited depth. Portland had intended to bring along rookie forward Nassir Little slowly, but with poor performances by Mario Hezonja, Kent Bazemore and Anthony Tolliver (who started five games but is shooting 24.4 percent from the floor), Little was pressed into starting duty.
That’s where Anthony can be expected to help–giving the Blazers depth at power forward.
Anthony, one of the most prolific scorers in NBA history, played 10 games in Houston last year, averaging 13.4 points and 40.5 percent shooting, making 32.8 percent of his 3-pointers.
He is currently No. 19 on the all-time scoring list, with 25,551 points. He is just behind Hall of Famer Alex English, who scored 25,613 and is 18th on the all-time list.
Comments
Carmelo Anthony Blazers Signing: When Will Melo Make 2019 Debut?