After his wish for a trade was finally granted in the form of a deal to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Carmelo Anthony will have a lot of adjusting to do. Since being selected 3rd overall in that illustrious 2003 NBA Draft class, Anthony has had to bear the burden of being the go-to scorer on nearly every one of his teams but that will all change with his new era in OKC.
Anthony will have to familiarize himself with playing the third wheel instead of being the primary option with Russell Westbrook and Paul George already in the fold. Though Melo will likely get fewer touches than he’s accustomed to, the veteran forward will also have another adjustment to make: a position change.
In the past, Anthony had shown his adeptness at either forward spot but had typically lined up on one of the wings as the 3. Now in OKC with George expected to hold down that responsibility, Anthony will be slotted in at power forward, a position he’s more than familiar with and has had to play in spurts.
Head coach Billy Donavan confirmed that Melo will be the team’s starting 4 according to ESPN’s Royce Young:
“He’s going to start the power forward spot for us, that’s what he’s going to do.”
When Melo was asked himself about what he thinks of his ‘new’ position, the Syracuse product is ready for the challenge and expressed that he has no issues playing the 4 and actually thinks he operates better from that spot. “I’ve been playing the 4 almost all my career,” Anthony said. “I have no problem with playing the 4, I actually like that, I actually embrace that. And for this team, I think it will be better.”
Though small forward is his natural position, having Carmelo Anthony line up at the power forward is almost always a mismatch for the opponent. We saw it during his stints with the Knicks and Nuggets in which he was occasionally deployed at power forward and now that will become the usual under Billy Donavan in OKC.
Melo’s lethal scoring arsenal from inside and out is tough for opposing bigs to contain and he is usually quicker than opposing 4s even at this older age. Though Russ and PG was already terrifying enough, expect Anthony to provide the Thunder with an extra scoring kick as the third option from that power forward position.
