Portland fell short to the L.A. Lakers in the NBA playoffs, but former Syracuse basketball star Carmelo Anthony is high on the Trail Blazers.
It proved absolutely ludicrous that Syracuse basketball legend Carmelo Anthony couldn’t catch on with an NBA team for so long, but he certainly proved all the doubters and nay-sayers wrong during his stint with Portland this past season.
Both in the shortened regular season, as well as the Trail Blazers’ recently concluded five-game series against the Los Angeles Lakers, Anthony collected about 15 points and more than five rebounds per contest.
Not too shabby for a guy who many had wrongly assumed wouldn’t compete in the NBA any longer after a long hiatus. Anthony, a forward, is a future Hall of Famer, sits at No. 15 on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, is perhaps the most-decorated player for USA Basketball in the Olympics, and as we all know led the ‘Cuse to its sole national title in 2003.
Yet a big knock on Anthony is that he hasn’t had a huge amount of success in the playoffs and doesn’t own an NBA championship ring. Following Portland’s exit at the hands of the Lakers, Anthony said that he wants to remain with the Trail Blazers and continue his pursuit of the NBA’s grand prize.
Former Syracuse basketball sensation Carmelo Anthony has a good feeling about residing with the Portland Trail Blazers moving forward.
"“Honestly, I think I found a home in Portland. I got comfortable with the organization, I got comfortable with the guys on the team, they got comfortable with me,” said Anthony, according to an article from 247Sports’ Riley Gates. “And at this point in my career, I do think that that’s the best fit for me, the best situation, especially having this experience now and kind of just getting my feet wet, just coming in and just being who I am, staying true to myself.”"
Anthony added, “I really hope that it can be Portland at the end of the day, where, you know, we give ourselves a chance to keep this team together, you know, get guys healthy and get another run at it.”
Gates notes that if Anthony comes back to the Trail Blazers in the next campaign, he “would continue to provide veteran leadership for a promising team.”
Of course, the NBA’s Western Conference, buoyed by the Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers, is totally stacked, but Portland features Anthony and one of the league’s best players in point guard Damian Lillard, among others.
Syracuse basketball fanatics out there, myself included, are rooting for Anthony to keep on thriving in the NBA and, hopefully, get a legit chance at an NBA crown with the Trail Blazers in the near term.