Former Syracuse Orange standouts Carmelo Anthony and Jerami Grant have been nothing short of phenomenal for OKC. ITLH breaks it down.
Many expected Carmelo Anthony to have trouble sharing the basketball when the Thunder acquired him this past September.
Through OKC’s first seven games, Anthony has quickly quieted the critics and has reminded the NBA that he is among the league’s best spot-up shooters. Last season, Anthony averaged 19 field goal attempts per game, shot just 43% from the floor, and averaged 22.4 points per game as the main scoring threat on a laughingstock Knicks team.
Through the first seven games of the 2017-18 regular season, Anthony is attempting 18 field goals per game, is shooting a healthy 46% from the floor, and is averaging 23 points per game.
In New York, Anthony was forced to do it all in order for his team to compete at times, and by March, his body gave up on him. In Oklahoma City, Anthony has not only been able to become a more efficient player on offense, but his defense has also improved.
Melo is averaging more than one steal and one block per game and has not slacked off on the
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defensive end of the ball. In OKC’s three losses of the year, Anthony scored 26 on 46% shooting, 28 on 47% shooting, and 23 on 53% shooting.
At 33-years-old it is understandable that Anthony is no longer able to be the No. 1 scoring option on a contending team. Now, paired with superstars Russell Westbrook and Paul George, the sky is the limit for Melo on both ends of the floor.
Fellow Syracuse alum Jerami Grant has also turned heads through the first two weeks of the NBA season.
After OKC acquired two high-end NBA forwards in George and Anthony this offseason, it was reasonable to believe that Grant’s role with the Thunder was going to be small.
However, the exact opposite has been the case through OKC’s first seven games of the regular season. Although it’s Grant’s defense that has kept him in the NBA, he has recently shown the league that he can be an efficient scoring threat too.
Through seven games, Grant is averaging eight points and four rebounds, and has a had a few eye-popping offensive games. In Oklahoma’s third game of the year against Minnesota, Grant poured in 12 points on 4-5 shooting and grabbed four rebounds. This past Tuesday against Milwaukee, Grant scored 17 points on 5-9 shooting, grabbed four rebounds, and dished out two assists.
The Syracuse product patiently waited, and now has a chance to carve out a distinct role with one of the NBA’s most promising teams.
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Last month, I wrote about how certain I was that Anthony and Grant would play well together. Through two weeks of NBA action, Anthony and Grant have made a seamless transition into what should shape out to be a very capable Thunder team, and are continuing to show the world that Jim Boeheim knows how to groom lasting NBA talents.