BLAZING A NEW TRAIL?

Why did it take so long for Carmelo Anthony to join an NBA roster?

Zach Allen
Nov 19, 2019, 7:03 am
Photo by Harry How/Getty Images

The Portland Trailblazers just recently signed Carmelo Anthony on Thursday night. Players and fans have been waiting for this acquisition for the longest.

Carmelo Anthony has been waiting for another opportunity ever since the Rockets let him go last season. When the Rockets acquired Anthony in the 2018 summer, the buzz about him already was he hated playing defense and was not a team player. The Rockets front office was worrying about if Anthony and Harden would get along. They wanted to add more perimeter shooting so they were able to match up with Golden State better. The Rockets decided to take a risk on Anthony.

As the 2018-2019 season started, the Rockets got off to a slow start with a record of 4-6. Questions were being asked if Anthony was a right fit for the Rocket's roster during the struggle. Daryl Morey and the Rockets analytics started to take a closer look at Anthony. After evaluating Anthony, Morey decided to let him go. Anthony's departure from the team had the league confused. Analysts wondered if Harden had anything to do with it. Chris Paul, Anthony's friend, was completely confused on why the Rockets let him go. Anthony at the time was averaging 13.4 ppg and was coming off the bench.


Rockets GM Daryl Morey talks about the rumors Carmelo Anthony will be dropped youtu.be

Dwayne Wade, Anthony's friend, felt like the Rockets used him as a scapegoat for the terrible start. Anthony went on First Take to explain the situation with the Rockets. He told Stephen A. Smith that Morey was not letting him suit up that night against the Spurs. Anthony was also appalled on what Morey said to him. He was defiantly confused after a 28 point performance against Brooklyn.


Carmelo Anthony talks leaving Rockets: I felt fired, CP3 and Harden didn't know | First Take youtu.be


For a good solid year people thought Anthony was black balled by NBA teams around the league. Anthony's situation was disappointing because no NBA team for the longest wanted to take chance on him. There were rumors that the Lakers were possibly going to sign him unless they made the playoffs last season. Anthony's best friend, Lakers's star, LeBron James, found it difficult to acquire him on the Lakers. Royce White, a player in the BIG3 league, called James out on Anthony's behalf. Former NBA players like Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson also believed that Anthony was black balled. They talked about Anthony's problems on their podcast "All the Smoke."


Royce White GOES OFF on LeBron James for Carmelo: "WHY IS YOUR BANANA BOAT BROTHER UNSIGNED?" youtu.be


Now that the noise is cleared, the Portland Trailblazers have recently acquired Anthony on Thursday. On Friday, Damian Lillard spoke to reporters about the Blazers acquiring Anthony. Lillard willingly expressed how Anthony can bring a veteran presence to the Blazers. The fun fact of the interview was on how Lillard mentioned he was a big Melo fan growing up. People were really excited about Anthony getting a chance to play the Rockets this Monday night. Sadly, there were reports from Adrian Wojnarowski saying Anthony will not play until Tuesday versus the Pelicans.


Damian Lillard grew up a Carmelo Anthony fan, thinks Melo can help the Blazers | NBA on ESPN youtu.be


Hopefully this transition with the Blazers helps out Anthony because a player like him deserves to be in the league.

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Houston gets another victory in Anaheim

Astros overpower Angels again as magic number dwindles

Kyle Tucker had 3 of Houston's RBI on Tuesday night, including a two-run homer. Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images

After a beatdown of the Angels on Monday in the opener, the Astros entered Tuesday's game looking to replicate that success. Though Los Angeles would put up more of a fight, Houston still used their potent offense to keep the game out of reach.

Final Score: Astros 10, Angels 5

Astros' Record: 90-61, first in the AL West

Winning Pitcher: Jose Urquidy (8-3)

Losing Pitcher: Packy Naughton (0-3)

Houston's bats keep connecting to back up Urquidy

The Astros picked up on Tuesday's game where they left off on Monday, launching homers to take and extend a lead. A leadoff walk by Carlos Correa in the top of the second set up Kyle Tucker, who drove a two-run shot. Aledmys Diaz was next, making it back-to-back jacks to push the new lead to 3-0.

That gave Jose Urquidy a lead to work with, which came in handy as former Astro Jack Mayfield cut the lead to two runs with a leadoff solo homer in the bottom of the second. Other than that, Urquidy did well through five innings, allowing just two other hits over that span. LA got to him in the sixth, getting two singles to set up a three-run homer to end his night. His final line: 5.1 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 2 HR, 79 P.

The runs keep coming

He would still leave in line for the win, though, as before that bottom of the sixth, the Astros had put up seven more runs across the fifth and sixth. A leadoff walk in the top of the fifth was followed by a two-run homer by Jose Altuve, then later in the frame, an RBI single by Aledmys Diaz made it 7-1. They pushed that to double digits in the sixth, with a leadoff solo shot by Martin Maldonado, a sac fly by Carlos Correa, and an RBI groundout by Kyle Tucker, putting them up 10-1 before the homer allowed by Urquidy cut that to 10-4.

Astros win to reduce magic number again

In the sixth, Cristian Javier took over for Urquidy, finished that inning, and returned for a scoreless seventh. He ran into Shohei Ohtani to lead off the bottom of the eighth and left a fastball in the zone, which Ohtani turned around 445 feet to make it a five-run game. Javier still got through the inning, leaving just the ninth for Houston's second reliever of the night, Josh James. James would get through a scoreless inning, erasing a leadoff walk as the lopsided win paired with an A's loss reduces Houston's magic number to 4.

Up Next: The third of this four-game series will be another 8:38 PM Central start on Wednesday. Janson Junk (0-1, 2.25 ERA) will make his third career start for the Angels, while Luis Garcia (11-7, 3.37 ERA) will have the ball for the Astros.

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