You can count on Carmelo Anthony to be welcomed with open arms at Madison Square Garden on New Year’s Day, assuming of course that he’s still with the Portland Trail Blazers when they kick off 2020 with a game against the Knicks in New York.
There are no guarantees in the NBA and that includes Anthony’s contract, which won’t be officially guaranteed until Jan. 7. It’s a low risk, low investment for the struggling Blazers, a guard dominated team decimated with frontcourt injuries and a weak bench. Hence, the interest in Anthony, who hasn’t played an NBA game since Nov. 8, 2018 but could score 12 to 17 points off the bench with his eyes closed. That’s crucial since Portland’s forwards are averaging a combined 36.3 points per game which ranks 27th in the league. They also rank dead last in field goal percentage.
Who knows if Melo can help. He certainly can’t hurt.
Signing Anthony is clearly a move by a desperate team that appeared in the…
