Carmelo Anthony Is Officially Going To Be A Rocket
Not exactly a surprise Shams Bomb as everyone with a brain knew the second Melo was bought out from the Hawks that he was going to end up in Houston. It was more just a waiting game until everything could be buttoned up, and here we are. Pretty hilarious that Melo cleared waivers, the true sign the entire league things you’re washed but that’s a whole different topic for a different blog.
If there’s one thing Daryl Morey loves, it’s finding value in places nobody else thinks they can. So while the internet can spend the next few months getting jokes off, there’s obviously a reason why Morey wants Melo in the first place. A few weeks ago I blogged about how Melo may fit in this system as he know has to basically pick up the offensive production of Trevor Ariza, and while there were times in OKC where Melo struggled, he did have success in a lot of the same areas as Ariza. Basically to be successful in this system Melo is going to have to just make his open corner threes, something he does at a respectable percentage. I know there may be concerns about his ball stopping habits and all that, but it’s not as if he’ll really be touching the ball with any other job than to just let it fly. With CP3 and Harden handling most of the ball handling duties, they can just dribble for 20 seconds and then get it to Melo for an open look.
Advertisement
Where I’m most interested is how the hell this team responds defensively. They lost two legit wing defenders in Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute, and in no way have they replaced that type of defense this summer. I’m sorry but Melo and MCW are not going to cut it. So while the Rockets will still be really good (if healthy of course) there are legit concerns that they may have taken a few steps backwards this summer. There will now be more pressure on guys like PJ Tucker, and it’s important for Rockets fans to understand that while their team last year took GS to Game 7 of the WCF, this is an entirely new team. None of the players they lost are what you would call a star player or anything like that, but those two wings were extremely important to what they did on both ends.
Part of me wants to believe Melo will figure it out and find a way to contribute to this HOU team, but the other part of me can’t ignore his past with D’Antoni and the fact that he was pretty brutal in OKC. I suppose he’ll be excited to join a team that loves shooting threes more than you love your own mother, but summer workout videos will only take you so far. The Rockets have legit title aspirations this season, and it will be fascinating to see how the Melo Era will work out. To be honest the only thing I really pray for is chaos. Will CP3 turn on his banana boat buddy? Will Harden lose his cool and fight him in the locker room? I can’t wait to find out.
And of course, for those Rockets fans that are looking for any positive spin, here are your highlights