Houston Rockets: Three reasons why James Harden can repeat as MVP
By T.A. Mock
Carmelo Anthony with boost Harden’s stats
After over a month of speculation over Carmelo Anthony, he finally found a new home here in Houston. The Melo to Houston rumors have been going on for over a year and we’ll finally get to see what’s got in a Houston Rockets uniform.
Melo is not the star that he used to be. He is no longer a primary, go to scorer. He can longer rip into the lane like he used to. Simply put, Melo is a shell of the player that earned him his superstar but, fortunately for the Houston Rockets, they don’t need him to be that.
Adding Melo may seem like it would detract from Harden’s case. Melo needs the ball and is still a very good scorer and it might seem like this will take the ball out of Harden’s hands. But, I don’t believe it actually will hurt Harden. Melo on this offense should actually boost Harden’s stats across the board.
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Melo’s scoring acumen, especially his ability to nail the corner three should increase Harden’s assist stats and get them back closer to a double-digit average. Melo should be able to generate looks for himself on and off the ball so, the bump in assists could only be the start.
Defenses are also going to have to pay more attention to Melo on offense. This will allow Harden to have more opportunities with only a single guy on him that he can take advantage of when scoring. Melo floating around the perimeter will keep guys further away from the basket which could also allow Harden to get more rebounds.