Carmelo Anthony has had a long road to his current position. He was out of the league for almost a year and was passed on by almost every team in the league. However, an injury crisis within the Portland Trailblazers led to him being offered the role of a meaningful starter alongside Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum. He has excelled in his NBA rebirth and is averaging 15.2 points and 6.3 rebounds this season.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
Melo is performing well in the bubble. He scored 21 points in their first two games and has been essential in their bubble surge for the playoffs. He has also lost weight in order to play the small forward role more efficiently. This is evidently working and Portland are 3-1 in the bubble.
LA Clippers Head Coach Doc Rivers spoke about Melo ahead of the Clippers match against Portland:
“He’s been great. It’s great to see. It’s funny, it’s rare when you see a superstar go to the second part of his career and accept his role. And it’s really helped the Blazers. He shoots the ball extremely well, still, and they use that craft.”
Doc Rivers pregame on Melo's year:
"He's been great. It's great to see. It's funny, it's rare when you see a superstar go to the second part of his career and accept his role. And it's really helped the Blazers. He shoots the ball extremely well, still, and they use that craft."
— Shane Young (@YoungNBA) August 8, 2020
Portland Trailblazers bubble hopes
Portland wants to stay until the playoffs start for sure. The team was unfortunate with injuries and are finally rested up. They are almost completely healthy and Damian Lillard is performing at his peak. They are probably one of the best-balanced teams in the bubble.
Alongside their star backcourt of Dame and C.J., Portland will finally have a competent big-man rotation. Jusuf Nurkic, Hassan Whiteside, and Zach Collins are all there to provide different elements to the team. Gary Trent Jr. is having breakout performances and forced his way into becoming one of their key closers in games. This team is more than likely to even upset the number one seed LA Lakers should they meet.
At the time of writing, the Portland Trailblazers are still one game behind the Memphis Grizzlies who are in the 8th position. They look to be almost definitely making their way into the play-in games. Their most likely opponent look like the incumbent Grizzlies if they can win another two games. However, the Suns have risen from the bottom of the West and remain the only undefeated team in the bubble. They may be Portland’s play-in opponents if the Blazers rise to the 8th seed and Memphis falls out in favor of Phoenix.
SOURCE: Shane Young Twitter
