4th-quarter benching another sign OKC is no paradise for Melo

Carmelo Anthony isn’t exactly sprinting to the finish line in his first — and perhaps only — season in Oklahoma City. Barring a complete April meltdown the Thunder should clinch a playoff spot and Anthony will experience postseason basketball for the first time in five years.

But it has been a struggle lately for the former Knicks All-Star forward who was traded to OKC two days before training camp for Enes Kanter and Doug McDermott.

On Friday, Anthony spent the entire fourth quarter on the bench only to return for overtime in Denver’s 126-125 win over Oklahoma City. And yes, Melo was wearing a hoodie on the bench.

It was the Thunder’s third straight loss and yet another humbling moment for one of the league’s greatest scorers.

In the past two weeks, Anthony missed a pair of free throws in the closing seconds of a loss to the Boston Celtics and then missed a wide open three at the buzzer of a loss to Portland. And now a benching against the team that originally drafted him.

“Of course I wanted to be there, but that wasn’t my decision to make, so I kind of leave that to coach on that one,” Anthony said.

ESPN reported that it was the first time that Anthony didn’t play in the fourth quarter of his 44 career overtime games.

Carmelo was about to check in with three minutes left in regulation but after Jerami Grant hit a corner three to extend the Thunder lead to six Anthony told head coach Billy Donovan to stay with Grant. Anthony was on the bench even after OKC called timeout with 15 seconds left with the score tied. Russell Westbrook eventually missed a three with two seconds left.

“I was sitting for the whole fourth, and there was like two and some change on the clock,” Anthony said. “[GRANT] hit that 3, so it was like, just let him continue to go out there and just play it out and see what happens. But then we wind up going to overtime.”

Anthony is playing a career-low 32.2 minutes and shooting a career-low 40 percent from the field. He’s the third option on a team that will struggle to get out of the first round.

Would Carmelo have been better off with the Houston Rockets? He’d certainly be with a stronger team and playing with his good friend Chris Paul. But Anthony is getting open shots with Westbrook as his point guard. He’s just not making them. In four of his last seven games, Anthony didn’t score in double figures.

In July, Anthony could opt out of the final year of his contract, which would pay him $28 million. It’s hard to imagine him leaving that type of money on the table unless he has a chance to join forces with LeBron James.

WHY KAWHI?

The Kawhi Leonard situation is the most unSpurs-like thing we’ve ever seen from the NBA’s best and most successful franchise the last two decades.

Leonard has played in just nine games and it does not appear as if he’ll play again this season. He is due for a super-max extension this summer and there is a theory that Leonard, recovering from a quad injury, does not want to jeopardize a huge pay day.

According to a source, Leonard is healthy enough to return but he remains sidelined on the advice of his own medical staff. And, according to reports, Leonard is heading to New York to continue his rehabilitation. This was Gregg Popovich from a couple of weeks ago: “The first step is he’s got to be cleared by his medical staff that he’s seeing. And until he gets cleared, we can’t make a decision on when he’s coming back.”

Notice how Popovich made it a point to say “his medical staff.”

This isn’t your Tim Duncan Spurs anymore. LaMarcus Aldridge was talked out of demanding a trade last summer and now you have a Finals MVP unhappy with the team’s medical staff and, according to a source, that Popovich still believes that practice is important. Essentially, Leonard feels too much practice will shorten his career and thus hurt his earning potential.

It’s a mess, absolutely. There are league executives who believe that Leonard will sign an extension this summer while others feel that if San Antonio can acquire assets in the form of draft picks and players (hello Boston) Leonard will be gone.

MVP MUSINGS

Things Michael Jordan believed but would never say publicly: “I would vote for me (for Most Valuable Player).”

LeBron, however, didn’t pass on the opportunity earlier this week in Miami to promote himself for the award, telling the Associated Press: “I would vote for me. The body of work, how I’m doing it, what’s been happening with our team all year long, how we’ve got so many injuries and things of that nature, guys in and out, to be able to still keep this thing afloat, I definitely would vote me.”

LeBron is enjoying another MVP season. He’s on pace to play in all 82 games for the first time in his career. In fact, LeBron hasn’t played more than 77 games over the last six years. He’s a freak of nature.

However, James Harden has the Houston Rockets on pace to win 65 games. He finished runner-up last season and sometimes the voters reward a great player like Harden who may never be in this position to win it again.

We expect so much from LeBron and he rarely if ever disappoints. His greatness may be working against him, as strange as that may sound. When Karl Malone was named MVP in 1997 there was no denying that The Mailman had a terrific season. Was he better than Jordan? No. But the voters occasionally lean toward giving someone like Malone a lifetime achievement award.

LeBron last won the award in 2012-13. Since then, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry (twice) and Westbrook have been named MVP. Harden, who was once teammates with Durant and Westbrook in OKC, is still the favorite.