Considering how Carmelo Anthony remains significant to the plans of would-be title contenders, it鈥檚 hard to imagine how close he came to being out of the National Basketball Association (NBA) for good. But he did come close, and, for a while, was actually on the outside looking in. Three years ago, he saw the Rockets unceremoniously dump him after 10 games, with his 鈥淚鈥檓 too good not to start鈥 sense of self most certainly not helping his cause. He spent the rest of the 2018-19 season taking stock of his worth, and, in retrospect, the absence did him a lot of good. He was in a Blazer uniform the next time he suited up, and the two years he spent alongside All-Star Damian Lillard and extremely underrated CJ McCollum helped him adjust to life as a supersub.
These days, Anthony is happy playing his part off the bench. He鈥檚 chugging along just fine, and, in fact, proved instrumental in the Lakers鈥 first victory of their 2020-21 campaign. For all the marquee names dotting the roster, he was the single biggest reason they finally broke into the win column after poor performances off the blocks. Not LeBron James. Not Anthony Davis. Not Russell Westbrook. Him. And it was, perhaps, only fitting that his heroics coincided with his passing of acknowledged great Moses Malone to ninth in the all-time scoring list.
The previous iteration of Anthony would have reveled in the moment, taking in all the accolades to feed his ego. Instead, he used the occasion to reflect on his longevity, and, in the process, comprehend that his continued significance in the league stemmed from his acceptance of his reduced role in the grand scheme of things. He鈥檚 no spring chicken at 37, and he figures to be closer to the rocking chair than to the treadmill. Yet, if nothing else, his stellar showing against the Grizzlies the other day underscored his capacity to make a difference now and then.
Granted, the Lakers seem destined to be a year-long experiment in counter-programming. At a time when pace and space call for speed and mobility, they stack up on bigs and employ, for the most part, an elephant-walk offense that Westbrook鈥檚 presence aims to correct. They also launched an experience invasion that鈥檚 akin to rolling the dice. As far as Anthony鈥檚 concerned, though, they鈥檙e not wrong to have done so. And he knows he鈥檚 Exhibit A. Once upon a time, he would have shouted it to the world. Now, he鈥檚 content to let his accomplishments do the talking. He got the Lakers their inaugural win of the season. If he stays grounded, there鈥檚 no reason he can鈥檛 help them get closer to the hardware.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since 大象传媒 introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
