Carmelo Anthony’s 2-game hot streak has Thunder winning again
Carmelo Anthony has been subject to questions about his shooting but now after a good two games it is looking like he’s starting to heat up.
The Oklahoma City Thunder won rather easily against the Los Angeles Lakers Wednesday night, 114-90. Carmelo Anthony was one standout during the game, finishing with 27 points, three rebounds and two assists in just 27 minutes.
He was 10-of-15 from the field and 4-of-6 from the 3-point line (66.7 percent in both categories).
This follows up the game against the Sacramento Kings where he scored 20 points and had eight rebounds.
Anthony has been constantly questioned about his struggles in terms of shooting the ball. His 17.4 points per game this season represent the worst scoring average of his career.
In early December after a loss to the Brooklyn Nets, Anthony was going through what he called “the toughest stretch of his career” as far as making shots.
Anthony has been taking the fewest shots of his career and sharing the court with two other superstars has taken a toll on him. But Anthony is older than Paul George and Russell Westbrook, and everybody knows the oldest sibling always has to sacrifice the most.
Anthony uses his experience to lead the Thunder through his tough times and the team’s tough times. He was the one who spoke up when OKC was struggling after a 117-106 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. Anthony questioned the energy of his teammates, per NBA.com:
"”I think it’s a lack of energy,” Anthony said. ”We played in spurts tonight. I think the last two games the energy has just been down. With that, we were one step behind on a lot of plays. We didn’t put a full game together these past two games. As a result, we lost these two …. It happens.”"
After a blowout loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Thunder have pulled off a three-game win streak. Anthony’s been a big part it, mainly because he has accepted his role on the team.
He’s not the main scorer, but he’s been playing in a requested role since Christmas, which means when his name is called upon, that’s when he able to take control.
Anthony has thrived in that role and his efficiency has went up to 47 percent from the field and 37 percent from 3-point range. Acceptance has been key to Anthony’s success recently, as he told ESPN‘s Royce Young:
"“Once you accept something, regardless of what it is, I think you become comfortable with it. You start putting your all into it, you start working on that role and on that acceptance, and it becomes fun. I think right now, after accepting that role, I think early in December, the game is starting to become fun again for me, fun for us as a team. Any time you get to making shots and winning basketball games, it makes it that much more fun.”"
Now that Anthony can contribute to the offense the way he feels is productive, he’s having fun again. In an 82-game season not including the playoffs, having fun is necessary.
If the Thunder can get efficient offense from Anthony when his name is called upon, that will be crucial because there are going to be games where Russell Westbrook and Paul George are just not hot and Anthony’s efficiency can carry the Thunder through those times.
A tough game just like that is OKC’s upcoming contest against the defending Eastern Conference champs. The Cleveland Cavaliers have one of the greatest players to ever play the game in LeBron James and a loaded team that is struggling as of late. This is a game that the Thunder need to win.
The Thunder have wins against the Houston Rockets and the Golden State Warriors already this season. Those two teams are not only the two best teams in the Western Conference, but the entire league.
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If Carmelo Anthony can keep this hot streak going, then that increases the Thunder’s chances to be on the right track again and close out a good first half of the season leading up to the All-Star break.