After a year of being sidelined, Carmelo Anthony is back on the basketball court and making his Portland Trail Blazers debut after signing a non-guaranteed contract with them a few days ago. Though he didn’t play against his former Houston Rockets team last night, the team made sure to give him the nod against the New Orleans Pelicans.
With Damian Lillard out of the lineup thanks to back spasms, ‘Melo got the start.
In 24 minutes, Anthony had 10 points and 4 rebounds, shooting 2-3 from 3-point range. Unfortunately, his plus/minus numbers were bad (-20), with the Blazers actually playing better without him on the court and when he didn’t get a touch.
Of course, it’s just his first game and he’s still trying to get acclimated with playing again and with his new team, but we all know his defense isn’t spectacular.
How this will affect Portland moving forward remains to be seen, but at least ‘Melo can provide a spark on offense, especially off the bench.
Carmelo said after the game that he felt “cool” about his debut. He sounded confident in the fact that the Blazers still have time to figure things out because it’s early in the season, even if they couldn’t get the win against N.O.
How much do you think ‘Melo will help Portland this season?