Houston Rockets: 3 big questions heading into 2018-19 NBA season
By Justin Rowan
3. Can the team successfully integrate Carmelo Anthony?
We all know the story with Carmelo Anthony. “Future Hall-of-Famer isn’t willing to sacrifice and come off the bench for the good of the team.” The frustration over Anthony’s hesitation to transition to the next stage of his career has caused some too go too far with their indictments of his game.
The reality is that Anthony is still a tremendously talented offensive talent. While he can’t preform with the consistency we saw in his younger days, there are still quarters and games where he can single-handedly be your team’s offense.
That talent is what drives people to believe he can be such a weapon with the second unit. There he can go to work, and if things don’t work out, the team can pull him.
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However, the focus on whether or not he starts is misguided. The real thing that needs to happen is the latter half of the above sentiment. There needs to be accountability with Anthony to the point that if he isn’t playing well, he understands that he will sit.
It’s unclear whether or not Mike D’Antoni and the Rockets will use this approach with Anthony. We don’t know how he is going to be deployed and what designs the team has for them. But if the ideal is for him to understand his role will be smaller than in the past, and he can earn more minutes with good play.
Starting, finishing, it doesn’t matter unless the team is getting productive minutes from Anthony when he’s on the court.
It’s no secret that the Oklahoma City Thunder was not a great fit for Carmelo. There were prolonged stretches where he wouldn’t even touch the ball, something he was not used to.
If the Rockets can find a way to keep Anthony involved and maximized while he is on the floor, he may be more accepting of a smaller role. He may not be the player he used to be, but he’s someone with the upside to make a real difference for a Rockets team that’s trying to find an edge.