Carmelo Anthony has been the No. 1 option for whatever team he has played on during most of his basketball career.
He knew that wasn’t going to be the case when he arrived in Oklahoma City
Joe Namath Jersey Youth , though it’s safe to say things haven’t gone as he expected when he signed up to be part the league’s next Big Three.
Playing alongside Russell Westbrook and Paul George, Anthony and the Thunder are headed to the playoffs . He is the Thunder’s third-leading scorer, yet at times it feels like he the fourth option behind center Steven Adams.
Anthony isn’t complaining.
”Acceptance of what I have to do here and what is needed of me,” Anthony said. ”I think the other guys on the team, after they started playing with each other more and more, we started figuring out each other’s game. We figured out what each other brings to the game.”
He has said he wants to win, and he is not just talking the talk.
Late in a critical game against the Denver Nuggets a few weeks ago , Anthony chose not to re-enter in the closing minutes of regulation. Instead, he walked away from the scorer’s table and let 24-year-old Jerami Grant stay in the game.
”I didn’t want to break his rhythm,” Anthony said. ”A lot of guys when they have it going like that, especially role player guys, bench guys, that gives them confidence. You believe in those guys.”
Anthony returned to action when the game went to overtime and his actions left little doubt where he is mentally. A likely future Hall of Famer, Anthony is one of the top 20 scorers in NBA history, a three-time Olympic gold medalist and former NBA scoring champion in 2013.
Not long ago
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He’s fine with it all because his goal is his first NBA title.
Anthony’s teammates respect how he has adjusted.
”He’s just an overall good guy,” Westbrook said. ”Does a lot of different things that goes unnoticed. His ultimate sacrifice is number one, and his being a team guy is always important as well.”
Anthony has been an isolation specialist for most of his career, having the ball in his hand and his team clearing out so he can go one-on-one. This season, he has been at his best when taking advantage of the attention Westbrook and George have drawn.
”Those guys are finding me in transition, they’re finding me in when guys collapse on the defensive end and we’re just sharing the ball,” he said. ”I think when we share the ball and we move the ball, everybody feels a part of the game. The rhythm comes, the flow of the game comes because the rhythm is a lot different than what we (the Thunder) had in the past, so we’ve got to find ways, find that rhythm.”
Anthony has had struggled at times finding his rhythm – he’s barely shooting 40 percent from the field. Still
Davante Adams Packers Jersey , he has shown glimpses of being the prolific scorer he once was. In Sunday’s win over the Houston Rockets, he scored 22 points on 7 for 14 shooting. He scored a season-high 29 points in a win over Cleveland on Jan. 20.
And there are times where his track record still matters.
In a loss to Portland on March 25 , Anthony missed what would have been a game-tying 3-pointer in the final seconds after Westbrook fouled out. Coach Billy Donovan was fine with Anthony having the ball in his hands.
”Carmelo is a proven scorer in this league and has made shots, big shots for a large portion of his career, and I’ve got confidence in him,” Donovan said.
The coach also believes Anthony is a team player.
Donovan said he was fine with when Anthony chose not to re-enter the game against Denver ”because to me, that’s a sign of unselfishness – wanting someone else to do well.”
Grant is averaging 9.4 points per game since the All-Star break in just under 20 minutes of action per game. Anthony is teaching him to be more assertive.
”Since I’ve been here, he’s been with our group – me, him and Paul – the shooting groups,” Anthony said. ”Just talking to him and encouraging him to take a little bit more.”
Anthony believes mentoring is as important as anything he does at this point in his career.
”I’ve been around for a long time,” Anthony said, ”and I want to give that insight and that knowledge to the young guys.”
And capture his first NBA title along the way.
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Artemi Panarin turned out to be everything the Columbus Blue Jackets were looking for when they traded for him last summer: A dead-eye sniper and deft puck distributor who can get game-breaking goals and make everyone around him better.
And, the Blue Jackets hope, a guy who can get them deeper into the playoffs.
So far, so good. Columbus heads home to Nationwide Arena after taking a 2-0 lead over Washington in their first-round series on Sunday night
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That came three nights after Panarin won the series opener in overtime. With two assists already in regulation, he drove down the left side, slipped past Capitals defenseman Dimitry Orlov and snapped a shot over goalie Philipp Grubauer’s shoulder.
”There’s very few people who can make that shot,” Washington coach Barry Trotz said.
”He can make a play from nothing,” Orlov said. ”He’s so smooth.”
The Blue Jackets probably wouldn’t be playing in the postseason without the 26-year-old Russian they call the ”Bread Man.” He was a steady presence and consistent scorer through a bumpy season of slumps and injuries to other key players.
Panarin led Columbus with 27 goals and 55 assists, and his 82 points were the most in a single season in franchise history. His plus/minus of 23 and average of just over 20 minutes on the ice per game were career highs.
Panarin – sounds like Panera Bread, hence the hockey nickname of ”Bread Man” or just ”Bread” – has embraced being a featured star after playing in the large shadow of Patrick Kane in Chicago in his first two years in the league.
”In Chicago, I played with Kane and got a lot of assists from him,” Panarin said. ”But I always wanted something more, to put more of the game on myself and be more accountable for the result. Here, I got that, what I wanted.”
Panarin, who won the Calder Trophy as the top rookie in the NHL in 2015-16, was acquired from the Black Hawks last June along with forward Tyler Motte for forward Brandon Saad and goalie Anton Forsberg. Saad was a reliable player for Columbus for two seasons.
”Bread is a different type player because he can make a special play to win a game,” Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. ”I just think for you to get through and find your way and try to be a better playoff team
Eli Manning Jersey Youth , you have to have some players that are dynamic. You’re not coaching it, they just see something, they seize a moment and they win you a game. Or they make a huge play to get you back in the game in another way.”
With the Blue Jackets on a power play and down 3-2 in the second period on Sunday, Panarin dribbled the puck and patiently waited for a lane to open up before delivering a pinpoint circle-to-circle pass to Cam Atkinson , who scored the tying goal.
Panarin’s line mates, veteran winger Atkinson and 19-year-old rookie center Pierre-Luc Dubois, have benefited from his skills. Atkinson – who had two goals on Sunday – has come on strong after missing time with injuries, finishing the regular season with 14 goals and 14 assists in February and March. Dubois had 20 goals and 28 assists in the regular season, making him the most productive rookie in Blue Jackets history.
Panarin makes $6 million a year on a contract that runs through next season. He’ll be due a sizeable salary bump if the Blue Jackets decide to keep him around after that.
So far, he’s been an ideal fit.
”When they first traded me, of course for a couple days, I worried,” he said. ”But then I calmed down and understood that this is all good for me. I understood that here I would progress as a player first and foremost. What’s most important to me isn’t money, but the whole game.”
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Associated Press Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno in Washington contributed to this report.
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