Some of the casual NBA fans, and especially the people on #NBATwitter, are so dumb. Last year, they called Carmelo Anthony washed. They said that his career was over. They said he couldn’t hang. What a bunch of idiots they are.
I’m not going to sit here and pretend that Carmelo is at the level that he was in New York, because that would be a lie. What I will tell you is that Melo has the ability to be a solid scoring option for any team for a few more years. This season he’s had multiple outbursts of 20+ points, on Thursday he led the Blazers to a win over the 76ers, and a few days ago moved to #12 on the all-time scoring list. Melo is, was, and will be, a walking bucket. That is what he does. It’s in his DNA.
Only casuals think that players like Melo, IT4, and Jamal Crawford can’t hoop anymore. You don’t need to know an entire player’s history to look and see how they are helping or hurting a team. In the past few games, Melo has dropped 24, 23, 22, and 21 points. There are obviously times where he isn’t as aggressive, like the time he scored just 2 points against the Knicks, but overall, he’s done what he’s known for. Getting BUCKETS.
On the year Melo has averaged 13 points per game. He hasn’t shot well from the field, hitting just 39%, but he’s also shooting 39% from deep, which is more than respectable. He gets to his spots, the elbow jumper, one-dribble pull ups, and he goes to work. The Blazers are a surprisingly good team this year. Most of that credit needs to go to Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, but Melo has done his job. He accepted his role coming off the bench, and he’s thrived so far.
Do I think that he will win the 6th Man of the Year? Unfortunately, no. Players like Jordan Clarkson and Lou Williams will more than likely take any of Melo’s votes for the award, but that should take away the fact that Melo has done very well in uncharted territory for his career.
I say all the time that we shouldn’t take players for granted. LeBron James won’t play forever, so we should appreciate his greatness while he’s still on the floor. The same thing goes with Melo. He’s been as automatic of a scorer as there could be since 2003, and he’s got the numbers to prove it. Sure, he doesn’t have a championship, he doesn’t have a MVP, he hasn’t had the chance to win a ring, but make no mistake; Melo is a first ballot Hall of Famer, and that’s just the facts. He’s got a great Olympic career, he’s climbing up the ranks on the all-time scoring list, potentially cracking the top 10 before this season is over, and most of all, he’s been a good teammate and a great leader for this league.
Melo won’t play forever, sadly. I’m a fan of giving people their roses while they’re still around, and I want Melo to get his respect. He’s been one of the very best to lace ’em up, and he needs to be recognized as such. There are few other superstars that have had the impact that Melo has had in his career. The league will miss Melo when he decides to hang it up, and we should enjoy the ride while we still can.
Round The Game 
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