Rather satisfactory for his debut in Los Angeles, Carmelo Anthony should in theory approach the coming season calmly. In fact, it’s a little more complicated … The winger recently revealed that there is still a lot of uncertainty about him.
While most of the Lakers are clearly not at their best since the start of the warm-up games, Carmelo Anthony is showing some encouraging signs. In 17 minutes played per game, the veteran is currently running just over 10 points and 3 rebounds on average, all with an address behind the arc quite interesting (36.8%). During the drop suffered against the Suns (123-94), he had also floated with 17 units registered.
The first positive steps therefore under the Californian colors, but which do not yet give a clear indication as to the role that Melo will play in 2021-22. In fact, it seems that he himself does not know him yet! Asked recently, he explained that his playing time against the Warriors, to start the regular season, was not yet defined. And for good reason :
Carmelo says he’s still not sure if he will start or come off the bench on Opening Night.
— Lakers Nation (@LakersNation) October 13, 2021
Carmelo said he wasn’t sure if he was going to start in the major five, or on the bench, in the opener.
It may sound worrisome with just a few days to go, but the Crimson and Gold have extenuating circumstances. In principle, Anthony was supposed to start the meetings on the bench, in order to shine with the second unit. This is what he was able to do last year with Portland, showing that he had been able to adapt to his retraining (13 points at 41% at long distance). Considering he’s going over his 37th birthday, this just seemed like the logical choice.
Carmelo Anthony doesn’t know what his role will be at the Lakers
Sadly, Californians have suffered a cascade of injuries over the past few days, particularly to the fenders. Talen Horton-Tucker, Malik Monk and especially Trevor Ariza are notably on the floor, the latter having originally been designated as the post 3 holder. However, he and THT will be absent for at least several weeks, which prompts coach Frank Vogel to revise his plans at the last minute. Not ideal …
Suddenly, the question is whether Sweet Melon will recover the vacant spot in the five, or if he will retain his status as a replacement. In fact, having a player with as much experience as he has in reserve is an invaluable asset, especially since he is always also a clutch in hot times. LA therefore certainly hopes to be able to keep the status quo in its case. It remains to be seen whether the franchise will have a choice …
Hopefully for Carmelo Anthony the question of his role will be resolved before the opening game. It will then be much easier for him to prepare … However, that says a lot about the Lakers’ personnel concerns, currently.
