"Enjoy the game and play basketball" - Melo on role with Rockets
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 03 Oct 2018
That was an eventful NBA offseason that saw quite a few notable players changing teams.
Among those who will be suiting up in new uniforms for the 2018-19 NBA season, of course, are LeBron James who?s now with Los Angeles and Carmelo Anthony of Houston.
Much has been said on James move to the showtime Lakers, the role he will play, etc. but few on Anthony, the former Knicks star, who ended up signing a one-year deal with the Rockets after a disappointing year with the Oklahoma City Thunder that came within one game of reaching the NBA Finals.
While Melo?s role in Houston is unclear ? with a bench role a possibility ? his new teammates have spoken highly of the 10-time All-Star. Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player James Harden has given his approval for Anthony joining Houston to chase an NBA title.
For Rockets point guard and Anthony?s close friend, Chris Paul, the signing is a good thing. Paul spoke to reporters, including Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston about the signing and expressed optimism for both sides.
?Melo, I?m excited about it,? Paul said. ?That?s my brother. I?m not only happy for our team, but I?m happy for him. When you know a guy that well you?re able to push each other and motivate each other and that we both have a common goal, wanting to win a championship.?
Paul and Carmelo Anthony have only been teammates on the Houston Rockets for a short period of time. But sign that the duo are already creating highlights together appeared in one practice game.
CP3 was caught trapped on a baseline drive, saw a slight opening between the legs of JaMychal Green. That was all Paul needed to find Anthony, who knocked down the open three.
In his first and only season with Oklahoma City, Anthony averaged 16.2 PPG and 5.8 RPG with a shooting line of .404/.357/.767. He never developed the chemistry that he and the Thunder hoped with Russell Westbrook and Paul George ? and later complained of his role with OKC.
Anthony?s scoring numbers have been on the decline for the last five seasons, but he was never moved to a bench role in either New York or Oklahoma City ? the 10-time All-Star has appeared in 1,054 career regular season games and has started them all.
That may change though in the upcoming season.
He, certainly, doesn?t want to come off the bench but Rockets head coach Mike D?Antoni said during Media Day the on Monday that he has yet to decide if Anthony will start for the Rockets or come off the bench, adding he prefers to wait and see how his pieces best fit together.
D?Antoni offered a clue tough saying that Anthony and P.J. Tucker likely wouldn?t share much time together, with both of them being viewed at 4s.
As for Melo, he just looks forward to making the game fun again in his first season with the Rockets,
Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle wrote that Anthony is set to enter his 16th professional season, with the 34-year-old having his vision set on winning an NBA championship.
?Just enjoy the game and play basketball ? I?ve been doing it for a long time,? Anthony said. ?I still know how to.?
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
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