MELO ROUTE
OKC still a ‘special place’ for Anthony as he returns with Rockets
The NBA season is longer than a handful of games. Just ask the Thunder. And if you want a second opinion, ask Carmelo Anthony and the Houston Rockets.
A week-and-a-half into the season, social media was writing the obituary on the 1-5 Rockets. They’d fallen from being a Chris Paul hamstring injury away from taking out Golden State in the Western Conference finals to a team hemorrhaging points with blame haphazardly being thrown on Anthony and his offseason arrival.
On Thursday, the Rockets come to OKC on a three-game road winning streak in which Anthony has provided positives for Houston while still trying to find his place in a new environment and role.
Through nine games, Anthony is averaging 14.7 points and shooting 36.2 percent from 3-point range on fewer shots per game than last season. In a very small sample of games, his efficiency on offense is slightly up from his Thunder days.
Anthony said being able to establish himself in Houston in the offseason has been helpful.
“I never really had the opportunity to kind of just sit back and take everything in and decompress a little bit," Anthony told media in Houston on Wednesday. “Last year in OKC, I went there before media day, turn around and do media day, turn around and do
training camp and then get right into it.”
In the Rockets’ winning streak, Anthony’s been particularly effective, upping his averages to 17.7 points per game and 39.1 percent from 3, including a 28-point performance against Brooklyn which included six 3-pointers.
The focus, however, will never drift far from Anthony’s defensive shortcomings. He’s not the only culprit in the Rockets’ slow start, but a part of the defensive drop-off they’ve sustained.
The Rockets are allowing 113.9 points per 100 possessions with Anthony in the game, 98.6 when he’s on the bench, making Houston essentially the league’s 23rd-ranked defense when Anthony plays and No. 2 when he doesn’t. Houston is still searching for how to maintain defensive integrity with the 34-year-old Anthony.
Last year, the Thunder
couldn’t in the playoffs.
The Thunder organization and Anthony himself will admit the experiment didn’t work in Oklahoma City, but the narrative, again, warrants context. Anthony worked in the regular season with the right combination of players around him: The Thunder was 14.7 points per 100 possessions better than the opposition when Anthony played with the core four of Russell Westbrook, Andre Roberson, Steven Adams and Paul George.
But in the first round against Utah without the injured Roberson, the Thunder allowed its fewest points per 100 possessions (94.9) when Anthony sat and its second-most (108.2) when he played.
One of Billy Donovan’s challenges was balancing Anthony’s desire to start and contribute with the organizational desire to play with more pace and efficiency on offense and defense. That challenge is now alleviated with the Jerami Grant/ Patrick Patterson platoon at power forward, and Anthony in Houston via an amicable split with the Thunder this summer.
Even after the departure, Anthony is appreciative of his time in OKC. He made it clear in a letter to the city and organization this summer following his trade to Atlanta. He said so again on the eve of his return to Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Three things to know
•Houston has James Harden and James Ennis back from hamstring injuries, but sharpshooter Eric Gordon (leg) is questionable, Nene (right calf strain) is out and Michael Carter-Williams (illness) is out as well.
•The Thunder was 1-1 last season against the Rockets when both Chris Paul and James Harden played.
•Entering Wednesday, the Thunder was 13th in the NBA in 2-point field-goal percentage (50.4), and last in 3-point field-goal percentage (29.5).
“Going back to OKC, that (holds) a special place because that was the kind of organization, the team, the community that opened their arms up to me last year, brought me in, took me in,” Anthony said. “I really felt part of that community last year.”