OKC Thunder: Dennis Schröder vs. Carmelo Anthony – who’ll be more impactful?
On the other side, it’s a different story for ‘Melo and Houston.
After Trevor Ariza’s departure, the Rockets needed a wing that could fit in their basketball philosophy and Carmelo Anthony is actually a player that meets the requirements.
In fact, last year more than 40 percent of ‘Melo’s possessions came either in spot up or isolation situations, keystones in the Rockets offense. The problem is that his efficiency wasn’t anywhere near an adequate level, with him posting a career-low 50.3 percent true shooting percentage (TS%).
Anthony is in the downward portion of his career and he’s a significant downgrade to Trevor Ariza, especially on defense.
With Ariza in the starting 5, these would have been the projected ratings for the Rockets next season, courtesy of The Nylon Calculus’ stats wizard Jacob Goldstein.
If we replace Ariza with Anthony, the Rockets’ projected NET Rating is worse by 1.8 points
Last year, after a sensational 65-win regular season the Rockets nearly knocked Golden State out in the Western Conference. Then Chris Paul’s injury and other factors led to a game 7 win for the Warriors in a wild game.
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Houston believes Anthony can help them return to the WCF and defeat Golden State. But, are we sure Carmelo is the player who’ll push them over the top or who the Rockets want in a playoff game?
In the series against the Jazz, OKC scored 32.8 points per 100 possessions better with ‘Melo off the court than with him on. Moreover, Anthony shot 20 percent on open threes and 45.2 percent overall.
Anthony has been below average in terms of impact in each of his last four playoffs runs, according to Jacob Goldstein’s PIPM metric and it’s really unlikely he’ll be a positive next year.
Inevitably there will be different takes on who’ll help their squad the most. My position is clear as the statistics point to Schroder’s potential to check off more boxes.
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Now it’s your turn to have your say in the comments section – which player do you think will be more valuable to their new team?