This article is part of our NBA Waiver Wire series.
Many basketball fans think of Carmelo Anthony as a ball-hog, but I'm not sure that's entirely fair. Sure, he takes a lot of shots. And yes, some of his teams have relied far too heavily on the old "give the ball to Melo and get out of the way" offense.
On the other hand, Anthony has never had the benefit of a truly elite teammate. He's played the bulk of his career with the likes of late-career Allen Iverson and Chauncey Billups and the ill-considered pairing of Tyson Chandler and Amar'e Stoudemire. Fine players all, but not a Pippen-to-his-Jordan or Kobe-to-his-Shaq in the bunch. When Anthony has been in the company of others at his remarkable level of skill, he's another player entirely; you could make a strong argument for Anthony as the top performer on several iterations of Team USA.
I think we're seeing that version of Anthony this year.
Anthony got off to a slow (for him) start, still feeling the effects of offseason surgery. But in recent weeks he has become a real force. And he's impacting the game in a wide variety of ways. Against Portland last Saturday, with his team riding a four-game losing streak, he went right into attack mode from the jump. He finished with 37 points and a much-needed W. On Wednesday back at Madison Square Garden, he played facilitator, racking up nine assists - and 15 boards - in another win over the T-Wolves. On the season, Anthony's shot attempts
Many basketball fans think of Carmelo Anthony as a ball-hog, but I'm not sure that's entirely fair. Sure, he takes a lot of shots. And yes, some of his teams have relied far too heavily on the old "give the ball to Melo and get out of the way" offense.
On the other hand, Anthony has never had the benefit of a truly elite teammate. He's played the bulk of his career with the likes of late-career Allen Iverson and Chauncey Billups and the ill-considered pairing of Tyson Chandler and Amar'e Stoudemire. Fine players all, but not a Pippen-to-his-Jordan or Kobe-to-his-Shaq in the bunch. When Anthony has been in the company of others at his remarkable level of skill, he's another player entirely; you could make a strong argument for Anthony as the top performer on several iterations of Team USA.
I think we're seeing that version of Anthony this year.
Anthony got off to a slow (for him) start, still feeling the effects of offseason surgery. But in recent weeks he has become a real force. And he's impacting the game in a wide variety of ways. Against Portland last Saturday, with his team riding a four-game losing streak, he went right into attack mode from the jump. He finished with 37 points and a much-needed W. On Wednesday back at Madison Square Garden, he played facilitator, racking up nine assists - and 15 boards - in another win over the T-Wolves. On the season, Anthony's shot attempts are off by about 2.0 per game.
The apparent willingness to adapt is really helping his teammates get going offensively. Arron Afflalo (52 percent) has been red-hot for the last week-plus and should be owned in a much greater percentage of leagues. Jose Calderon's (38 percent) play has really stabilized. And Lance Thomas (2 percent) has emerged as a viable three-and-D guy and might be worth a look in deep leagues.
You know about Kristaps Porzingis, of course.
The one key Knick I'm avoiding currently is Robin Lopez (53 percent). Lopez started the season well but has struggled of late, leading many to suspect that he's dealing with a nagging injury.
Mike D'Antoni Returns
Ordinarily we wouldn't pay much attention to the addition of an assistant coach, but Mike D'Antoni isn't just any assistant. He's the guy behind the offense run by roughly 5/6 of the NBA and a pretty decent portion of the NCAA.
It's unclear how much impact D'Antoni will have on the Sixers right away. It is very difficult to make wholesale in-season changes; NBA teams simply don't have that much practice time. That said, here's what could happen:
- D'Antoni's offensive system and philosophy makes fantasy stars of the most pedestrian point guards, so Kendall Marshall (4 percent), Isaiah Canaan (12 percent) and Tony Wroten (10 percent) make sense as speculative adds
- He also places a major premium on three-point shooting, so Canaan might get the biggest share of that point guard job going forward.
- And he loves stretch-the-floor big men. Robert Covington (85 percent) is Philly's best outside-shooting forward and should also get a boost.
The Sixer who might benefit the most from D'Antoni's arrival is Jahlil Okafor (88 percent), for "six degrees of Mike Krzyzewski" reasons. Remember, D'Antoni served for years as the "offensive coordinator" of Team USA, under head Olympic coach Mike Krzyzewski. Coach K, in turn, began running some portions of D'Antoni's offense at Duke… where Okafor played his college ball. The rookie is unlikely to be phased by any new wrinkles D'Antoni installs, and should benefit from a faster pace that gets him the ball with more time left on the shot clock.
Worth noting: I'm writing this column just after watching the Sixers go belly-up against the Knicks. That I'm able to say anything positive about them at all should be proof of D'Antoni's Jedi powers.
Charlie's Generic Team Update
Not a good week for the auto-pick all-stars, as my best players - Paul George and LeBron James - played like mere mortals. I won't over-react; those two will rebound, and I'll be getting DeMarre Carroll back very soon.
So this week I'll make a minor tweak in the frontcourt, adding Clint Capela (25 percent) and dropping Kosta Koufos. I was hesitant to add Capela earler this season, as it seemed he'd only get extended run when Dwight Howard was unavailable. That's no longer a concern, as Capela is even getting minutes in some lineups alongside Howard.
Picks for the Week
As always, we're shooting for a cross-section of players who will be available for the taking in both shallow and deep talent pools. Percent-owned stats are based on a default Yahoo League with roto scoring; your mileage may vary. If you have a question about a specific player feel free to hit me up in the comments or on Twitter @charliezegers.
Kyrie Irving (99 percent) - Uncle Drew is set to make his season debut on Sunday.
Lou Williams (61 percent) - Has scored in double-digits in ten straight games, and could be one of the bigger beneficiaries when Kobe Bryant (87 percent) reduces his workload to something more reasonable. (Worth noting - Kobe has actually been pretty good for the last week or so, but may miss a few games due to shoulder soreness.)
Bobby Portis (3 percent) - Pure speculation, but little-used rookie Portis got an extended look on Saturday with Pau Gasol unavailable, and more than held his own against New York's frontcourt. Don't be surprised if that game wins him some additional playing time going forward.
Kelly Oubre (1 percent) - With both Bradley Beal and Otto Porter unavailable, Oubre will get a shot in the starting lineup.
JaVale McGee (1 percent) - The Mavericks continue to bring McGee along slowly, but so far, so good. He scored 10 points on 5-6 shooting in 18 minutes on Friday, chipping in five boards and three blocks.
