OKC Thunder must tweak Carmelo Anthony’s role

Carmelo Anthony continues to struggle in OKC Thunder colors. The former NBA All Star has aged before our very eyes and Oklahoma City need to adjust his role yet again.

The OKC Thunder-Carmelo Anthony Power Forward experiment appears to be a mismatch. While Melo can torch opposing fours with his offensive repertoire, his inconsistent offense is a thorn in OKC’s side. Heading into the season, Anthony needed to evolve into a catch and shoot three point sniper. What’s transpired is a mediocre shooter from distance who offers virtually nothing on defense.

Sure, Melo has adjusted, but only in a sense that he doesn’t receive 50 post-ups a game. He is shooting a career low 40.9 percent from the field and is marginally better from three (34.9 percent). Anthony’s inability to beat players off the dribble is a huge problem.

He moves like Boban Marjanovic, jumps like Zach Randolph with vision of Shabazz Muhammad (this refers to Muhammad’s inability to see anything else but the rim). Essentially, Melo is a mid-range shooter who needs a hand in his face. He can’t hit the right side of a barn if he’s wide open.

Another minor adjustment needs to be made to his role. Lets explore some options.

Keep him in the mid-range

As painful as Anthony has been this season, he is still a lethal mid-range shooter. Melo finds solace in the lowest percentage shot available, particularly on deep two pointers. Statistical phenoms may frown upon that shot, but Oklahoma City need to ignore the stats in this case.

Melo shows flashes of moving the ball but instinctively, he wants to shoot as soon as it touches his hands. A Russell Westbrook-Melo pick and pop has virtually disappeared as the seasons waned. Billy Donovan has done a poor job incorporating this weapon as a staple in OKC’s offense. As I stated earlier, Anthony is still a fantastic mid-range shooter thus its both maddening and criminal the Thunder do not utilize it more as a primary option.

Of course, this doesn’t fall squarely on Billy Donovan or Anthony. Westbrook continues to over-dribble the ball in half court sets, tending to run the shot clock into its final seconds. The Thunder need to insert more motion offense and  initiate half-court sets earlier. When the post-season arrives, Melo’s ability to make shots from the mid-range will prove invaluable. If he is able to find rhythm early, OKC need to go to him regularly. Too often I have seen Westbrook seek his own shot even if Paul George or Melo have found an offensive rhythm. Oklahoma City need to go to Anthony early to establish an offensive presence and the best place to start is from the mid-range.

Post-up with an intention to pass

I am one of the few who are in favor of Anthony’s post-up offense. However, I find myself frustrated with his ignorance to CONSIDER passing the ball from the block. I stand corrected but there are very few who can handle Melo on the block. Smaller players will be backed down to the rack while bigger fours simply can’t match Anthony’s fade-away jumper or various jab steps down low. He is one of the best players the league has seen shooting over players therefore fans must accept this will happen often.

BUT his unwillingness to consider passing gives fans migraines.

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To no one’s surprise, Anthony is a decent passer averaging three assists per game over his 14 year career. He is currently averaging an anaemic 1.3 assists per game this season. This of course is a product of his new role however, there are countless times where OKC players have cut to the basket and Melo has ignored them. Too often I’ve witnessed Alex Abrines, Patrick Patterson and Paul George standing on the perimeter WIDE OPEN and not receive a pass. Melo needs to do a better job seeing the floor instead of only seeing the rim.

Again, this isn’t solely on Anthony. Westbrook’s affinity to dribble the ball excessively and lack of motion offense employed by the Thunder’s coaching staff make passing difficult. Cross-court passes are tough, thus in order for Anthony to see the floor better, players need to move. If Melo is to find rhythm in this respect, he needs to touch the ball. Without touches, your feel for the game disappears but he needs to show he’s a willing passer as well as a shooter.

Concentrate on team defense

As I mentioned on Thunderous Intentions (click here), starting Patterson beside him makes a tonne of sense. Anthony’s low IQ on defense and questionable effort (at times) requires a savvy defender to offset his poor tendencies. Thunder fans have expressed disappointment in Patterson’s play this season but the truth is he is under utilized. He has been a top 10 defensive power forward by the numbers over his career and is a terrific system player. A blue collar player by nature, having Adams and Patterson on court together makes loads of sense.

Rather than crucifying his ability to virtually defend no-one, Anthony must become a team defender. Ushering players toward teammates for help is his best option. By now, Thunder fans recognize he is a porous defender, therefore Oklahoma City need to help from the weak side to mask his flaws. Patterson isn’t a leaper but he is strong in one on one assignments and will body opposing forwards. He possesses a high defensive IQ and will help. Melo needs to concentrate on team defense and avoid one on one situations as much as possible.

Jerami Grant is also a smart option because he’s an exceptional athlete. His outstanding leaping ability and intelligence to block from the weak side holds tremendous value deterring shots at the rim. However, he is problematic on offense as he shoots the long ball poorly. Spacing is an issue with Grant on court and despite being able to knock down the occasional three, he is primarily a dunker.

Final Thoughts

The end-game rests on the coaching staff. At what point do you acknowledge the system isn’t optimally capitalizing each players skillsets? All season long Thunder fans have experienced Donovan beating the same drum for it to consistently flop. These are only minor adjustments, but may have positive ramifications moving forward. I am on board with the catch and shoot Melo but other facets of his game need attention.

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After 60-odd games we know what Melo is. He isn’t the All Star forward he was prior, but that’s no excuse to not optimize the skills he still possesses.