Carmelo Anthony’s long-awaited return to the NBA is coming, but it’s still not clear what game he’ll make his debut for the Trail Blazers.
Carmelo Anthony is back in the NBA—finally—but Melo stans will have to wait to see the future Hall of Famer make his debut with the Portland Trail Blazers. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Melo will not make his debut before Tuesday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Portland is embarking on a six-game road trip starting on Saturday. The earliest Melo might make his debut appears to be Thursday in Milwaukee.
The former New York Knick signed a non-guaranteed deal with the Blazers and still needs to pass a physical, which could happen as early as Saturday.
Portland’s decision to bring is a sign of their desperation to fix the frontcourt. The Blazers are thin at the three and four positions, a hole that Anthony could help fill.
The last game Melo played came on Nov. 8, 2018 when he was still with the Houston Rockets. In 10 games last season, the former Knick posted per-game averages of 13.4 points and 5.4 rebounds in just under 30 minutes.
He was mostly used off the bench which will be his likely role with the Blazers. Adding some scoring punch could help a Portland team that is currently mired in a serious rough patch.
Although Portland is coming off of a trip to the Western Conference Finals and six straight playoff appearances, the 4-8 squad is in danger of breaking that streak in the uber-competitive Western Conference.
