This wasn’t a change, even if the uniform is different. He had already embraced being a reserve with the Blazers.
Anthony has pushed back at the notion he’s not willing to be a reserve already and, on Monday, disagreed with the idea that he needed to accept a bench role coming into the season. That all this success comes with him taking on a role off the bench is a sweet bit of irony considering the reputation he gained for his unwillingness to adapt to changes. He ranks in the 87th percentile in catch-and-shoot jumpers, and the 94th percentile on no-dribble jumpers. No player ranking above him has more than 26 spot-up possessions. In 42 spot-up possessions, he ranks in the 97th percentile at 1.5 points per possession (PPP). In eight games at home, Anthony has never shot worse than 50% from the 3-point line, and has six games of shooting at least 60%.Īnthony’s Synergy numbers are just as incredible. At Staples Center this year, following Monday’s game, Anthony is shooting a staggering 64.4% on his 59 3-point attempts. On a minimum of 20 wide open 3-point attempts this season - classified by NBA.com as a shot with a defender more than six feet away - no player is shooting better than Anthony’s 65.4%. A player maligned for not being an advanced stats darling is now putting up analytics that would make Daryl Morey blush. So far, neither are doing it at the efficient clip Anthony is, as he’s shooting 50% from the field and 52% from the 3-point line.īut it’s not just his competitors for Sixth Man of the Year that can’t match Anthony’s newfound efficiency. Only Tyler Herro (20.3) and Buddy Hield (17.7) are averaging more points per game off the bench this season than Anthony’s 17.6 per contest. The Lakers can’t believe Carmelo Anthony was out of the league, or that they got him for the veteran’s minimum And man, he’s playing just terrific basketball and the fans are rewarding him.” “I’m not sure what it is (behind the crowd response), but he’s a great player that I think our fans came close to acquiring a couple times, or wanted to bring to the L.A. And obviously there’s a temptation to slide AD, to the 5 but I like what we’re getting with (Melo) coming off the bench. “They’re keeping him out of the starting lineup (laughs) because the energy we get when he checks in is something I don’t want to mess with. “Our crowd is amazing with him,” head coach Frank Vogel said. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty ImagesĮven with his success, the Lakers seem set on keeping him on the bench, hoping his energy will continue to elevate them on a nightly basis, while also hoping to keep him in the groove he’s found himself in this season. Anthony continues to flourish off the bench, proving to be a vital contributor to a Lakers team currently decimated by injuries. Now, what started as a tongue-in-cheek joke about Anthony’s contention for Sixth Man of the Year feels more and more realistic with each 3-pointer that finds nothing but net. “They opened their doors up to me, they gave me the same opportunity (I have here).” The right situation for that came in Portland,” Anthony said. I always stayed solid on who I am and what I can do. “That’s something that I took on the chin. It was also yet another reminder of what Anthony still has left in the tank, and a reminder of how remarkable it is that the league had effectively given up on him. It was the fifth time Anthony’s scored at least 20 points - each one coming at Staples Center - in the opening 11 games of the season. On Monday, Anthony received some of his loudest cheers yet as he connected with long-range bomb after long-range bomb, finishing with 29 points and seven 3-pointers in the Lakers’ 126-123 overtime win over the Hornets. “I think about that every day,” Anthony said.
Each 3-pointer that barely touches the net, each roar from the crowd when he checks in, each moment he steps on the court is a reminder of how, almost exactly three years ago, all of this was taken away from him. It’s a part of Anthony’s story that he’ll never get away from, and one that makes the start to this season all the more remarkable.
For a calendar year, he was left at home, the NBA convinced he was unable and unwilling to adapt to a smaller role in the modern era. There is no “almost” when talking about Carmelo Anthony being out of the league.