By Jordan Long
The Portland Trailblazers sit at 4-8, 13th in the Western Conference. They look to improve that record tomorrow when they face the San Antonio Spurs. Portland decided to add offense by signing free agent Carmelo Anthony.
Anthony has been a free agent since he parted ways with the Houston Rockets on November 15th, 2018. He spent 10 games with the Rockets and didn’t seem to fit their system. In those appearances, Anthony scored 13.4 points and added 5.4 rebounds a game. Anthony was used as a reserve forward for the most part, but started 2 games. The Rockets saw that the Anthony experiment wasn’t working and cut ties with him.
Anthony spent the rest of the 2018-2019 season waiting for a call from a team. Franchises were set with their team and passed on him. Finally, he will have another chance in the NBA with Portland. His contract is non-guaranteed for the rest of the year.
Anthony is not going to be a starter. The power forward starter was supposed to be Pau Gasol but Gasol has yet to play a game recovering from a broken foot. When healthy, Gasol will be the starting power forward. Right now, they are going with a combination of Anthony Tolliver and rookie Nassir Little. Tolliver has started 5 games at the position but he hasn’t played well, scoring 3.2 points and 3.5 rebounds. Little has his chance. He started against the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday but didn’t play well with 7 points in 23 minutes.
Anthony hopes to fit in with the Trailblazers. In the past he was a scorer who could make a bucket from anywhere on the court. He drives into the lane and can either shoot it from there or pass it to a teammate for them to score. Anthony can box out on the offensive and defensive end. Those rebounds equal more possessions on offense and start fast break chances.
The problem is his defense and holding onto the ball. He is not an athlete who hustles back to play defense. There are times where Anthony lets the player he is guarding go right by him for an easy bucket. He is not interested in improving his defensive skills. On offense Anthony can hold the ball and not pass to a teammate. He plays isolation basketball which could end up with poor looks at the basket or getting the ball stolen.
The Portland Trailblazers are taking a risk. They know Anthony’s offensive abilities may help this team turn around the season. Luckily, Portland will be able to cut Anthony if it doesn’t work out and they won’t have to pay him. This is Anthony’s best opportunity to prove he should still be in the NBA. If he is let go by Portland at any point this season, it might be time for him to walk away from the NBA for good.
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