NBA Rumors: Rockets’ Carmelo Anthony More Excited Than He Has Been In Years
Carmelo Anthony is set to start a new chapter of his career with the Houston Rockets in the 2018-19 NBA season. After a failed season in Oklahoma City with the Thunder last year, it was obvious that Anthony would be on his way out of town. The Thunder ended up trading Anthony to the Atlanta Hawks, who promptly bought the star forward out of his contract.
According to a report from Shams Charania of Yahoo! Sports, Anthony is more excited for the upcoming season than he has been in years. That’s right, playing with James Harden and Chris Paul has Anthony excited.
“They’ve worked out a lot this past summer and everyone who was around the workout is telling me this is as excited as Melo is gonna be going into a season.”
Charania also talked about Anthony last season and how he didn’t fit in well with Russell Westbrook and Paul George.
“I don’t know how familiar he was with Russ,” Charania added. “I think they had a relationship, but I don’t think his relationship with Russell Westbrook and Paul George was to the level that him, James Harden and Chris Paul are, especially Chris.”
Last season with the Thunder, Anthony ended up averaging 16.2 points per game to go along with 5.8 rebounds. He shot 40.4 percent from the field and knocked down 35.7 percent from beyond the three-point arc. Those numbers show just how much he struggled during the 2017-18 season.
Houston Rockets: 3 goals for Carmelo Anthony in 2018-19 https://t.co/IYyhVswFnM — @GTime_1 via @HoopsHabit pic.twitter.com/ecmdELIKn6
— HoopsHabit (@HoopsHabit) August 30, 2018
At 34 years old, plenty of fans and media members are beginning to feel like Anthony might just be aging. His athleticism has certainly taken a hit, but he is excited to prove that he can still make an impact.
Houston nearly knocked off the Golden State Warriors last season in the Western Conference Finals. Unfortunately, Paul went down with an injury and the Rockets ended up losing both Games 6 and 7 to end up getting eliminated.
All of that being said, Mike D’Antoni and company are hoping that Anthony can add some scoring to their lineup. Whether he starts or comes off the bench, Anthony will be asked to handle a decently large role.
Expect to see Anthony enter the season with a lot of excitement looking to prove that he is still capable of making an impact. Houston may end up getting an energetic and excited version of Anthony that hasn’t been seen in quite some time. If that is the case, the Rockets may have gotten a steal in free agency.
