Oklahoma City Thunder: Losing Carmelo Anthony to the Houston Rockets could be costly
The Oklahoma City Thunder letting Carmelo Anthony go could prove costly for one big reason.
The Houston Rockets officially signed Carmelo Anthony to a one-year, $2.4 million contract on Monday. For the Oklahoma City Thunder, this could prove to be costly.
Carmelo Anthony had the worst season of his career last year, averaging 16.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. Both of those averages were career lows.
The Thunder went through stretches during games and through the course of the season where they found it tough to find offense. Making shots seemed to be a tough task and the ball constantly stuck.
The offense lacked creativity and with the roster having Jerami Grant in the starting lineup this time around, they will be able to have more players cutting and moving to help create good looks. However, having superstar players is usually what makes a contender.
Having Carmelo Anthony on the roster gave OKC three superstars on its roster.
When the Thunder had Anthony in the starting lineup during this season, they were able to beat the defending champion Golden State Warriors twice in four tries. Carmelo got injured during the second game and couldn’t play the rest of the game, but in the first win he had 22 points and five rebounds.
The Thunder were also able to beat the Houston Rockets twice last year in three games. In the first game Anthony scored 20 points and five rebounds. In the second win, Anthony scored 22 points and had six rebounds.
He was also able to be a contributor to the 148-point game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. In that game, he had 29 points and 10 rebounds.
Their record for the season against those title contenders was 5-4. While OKC’s season wasn’t the greatest, it was still able to be able to play with contenders. Having three superstars greatly contributed to that.
The Thunder are only returning Paul George and Russell Westbrook this time around. Yes, the Thunder may look better out there as a complete unit, but against contenders, which ultimately decides your season, they may not be as great.
Not being able to get a third superstar makes the Thunder look obviously weak against the best of the best, like the Warriors, Rockets and Boston Celtics. Even with Carmelo, the Thunder lost to them twice after it seemed they had the game in hand.
Without Carmelo, this season could be tough. The floor may be raised, but the ceiling has been lowered.
Westbrook, who has proven he likes to shoot, will be the key. In 2016, he had a legendary season where he posted the highest usage rate in NBA history while being the second player to ever average a triple-double.
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Westbrook will shoot, but that can come at a price. He shot the ball 43 times against the Utah Jazz in the Game 6 loss in the first round of last year’s playoff series. It will be up to Paul George to take the ball and bring more poise to the offense.
George will have to be the peanut butter to Westbrook’s jelly; a smooth, calm player to complement Westbrook’s fast-paced game.
The Thunder had limited cap space this offseason, so losing Anthony seemed almost necessary to help with the team’s luxury tax problems.
What would help the Thunder’s chances to compete would be to get a scorer on a minimum salary like a Jamal Crawford that could provide offense for the bench, giving them an advantage alongside Dennis Schroder when the other team’s stars go out.
The Thunder have their designated late-game options and almost have the bench situation figured out, but who do they have after George and Westbrook that will strike fear in contenders’ hearts and take the Thunder to another level?
Schroder will help the Thunder late in games as he is a proven scorer. He was the leading scorer for the Atlanta Hawks last year and he was able to put up almost 20 points a game.
The Thunder will now see Anthony on Christmas when he will be back in a Rockets uniform.
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While it seems like losing Anthony was addition by subtraction, it may be as ideal as some may think it is, especially if he thrives in Mike D’Antoni‘s system and creates another playoff obstacle for the Thunder.