Road to Revival: Carmelo Anthony’s play elevates the Lakers

Los Angeles Lakers forward Carmelo Anthony was out of a job just two years ago. 

Yes, Carmelo Anthony. 

A 10-time All-Star, the ninth all-time leading scorer in the NBA and a six-time All-NBA selection was not picked up by a single team for an entire year when he was released in 2019 after 10 games with the Houston Rockets.

Not even LeBron James, one of Anthony’s closest friends, asked the Lakers, who missed the playoffs in the 2018-19 season, to sign Anthony despite having a stronghold on the front office’s roster decisions. 

James warmed up to the idea of teaming up with Anthony in the latest offseason, telling the 10-time All-Star, “The time is now. We’ve got to make it happen.”

It seems as though every time James powers his way to the rim for an emphatic slam or rises up for one of his patented chase-down blocks, the commentators always add in awe, “He’s in year 19!” What James is doing is absolutely unprecedented, but let’s not forget that Anthony was in the same draft class as James, just two picks later. 

Anthony, too, is reaching uncharted territory. Not only is he in his 19th season at age 37, but he also spent a year away from NBA basketball. He had to pull himself back into game shape, readjust to the game speed and find his groove again. 

Luckily for Anthony, the guy is a professional scorer. So often under the bright lights of Staples Center in Los Angeles, we see players not built for the center stage, with their shooting percentages dramatically decreasing. 

It’s a different story with Anthony, who is no stranger to the spotlight, having played six seasons at Madison Square Garden in New York. Eight games into the season, Anthony has 24 buckets from behind the arc, the fourth most in the league. 

He’s averaging 16.5 points per game on ridiculous efficiency: 51.5% from the field and 52.9% from three. He’s actually starting to look like “Hoodie Melo” from his famed 2017 workout videos. 

The scariest thing about Anthony’s efficiency is that he could actually keep it up. I know 52.9% from three sounds absurd, but I don’t think Anthony hanging around 48-50% is that outrageous, something only a handful of players have done in league history. 

Night in and night out, Anthony is getting quality looks. Keep in mind, this is a guy that used to be a superstar; he has seen heavy contests and double teams his entire life. He’s not used to being wide open on a consistent basis. 

He’s second in the league in catch-and-shoot three pointers made per game with 2.8, shooting 51.2% on those shots. Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis and James attract so much attention, opponents forget about three-time gold medalist Anthony sitting wide open in the corner. 

And you know how that goes. 

But he’s not just a standstill shooter 19 years into his career. Anthony is still a hefty 6-foot-7, 240-pound guy with an absolute dagger of a turnaround fadeaway. 

When he has a mismatch, he lumbers into the post while the Lakers space to the weak side. James probably stands at half court, conserving energy because even he knows Anthony’s throwing a shot up. We know, the defender knows, the crowd knows, but Anthony has been in the business for too long — he knows exactly how to get the shot he wants. 

His ability to take advantage of mismatches will be huge in a playoff environment when teams start to switch pick and rolls more regularly. He’s not afraid of taking the big shot either — he’s connected on 27 game-winning shots in his career. 

The question will be whether Anthony can keep up defensively. He still has quick hands and is sufficient guarding the post, but he isn’t the quickest in space, susceptible to blow bys that break down the defense. Teams are prone to hunting him in pick and rolls too. 

But Davis and James must figure out how to overcome Anthony’s defensive shortcomings because his floor spacing is so valuable. If he can maintain his current three-point rate, he could be a dark horse candidate for the Sixth Man of the Year award. 

And you’re telling me no one could have used this guy two years ago?

Sahil Kurup is a sophomore writing a column about the Los Angeles Lakers. His column “Road to Revival” runs every other Friday.