Houston Rockets: Three players to see role increase with Melo departure
By T.A. Mock
Carmelo Anthony’s time with the Houston Rockets appears to be over. Here are three guys that are set to see a role increase when he’s gone.
The Houston Rockets chose to partially tear down the team that won 63 games in the 2017-18 and took the Warriors to game seven of the Western Conference Finals. They were a great team but they didn’t get the job done.
So, the team opted to not really pursue some of their role players who became free agents. Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute both walked in the offseason opening the way James Ennis and Carmelo Anthony on the wing.
Ennis was brought in to provide the same defense that Ariza and LMM brought to the team that made them a top defense. He was to pair with PJ Tucker to create a terrific defensive tandem alongside Clint Capela. Melo was supposed to come in and multiply the offense beyond what Ariza and LMM could do.
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Unfortunately, the Houston Rockets stumbled hard out of the gates and the things that were supposed to happen with these new additions weren’t happening. The defense was putrid but the offense actually made the defense look decent.
The defense has definitely improved and will likely continue to do so with the return of Mike Bzdelik to the bench. The offense has had a couple really solid games but they’ve also failed to score 90 points four times already and they only managed to do that three times over the past two seasons combined.
Now, it appears that Melo is already on his way out the door even though Daryl Morey has refuted that report. Teammates and coaches believe it’s happening and it’s been widely reported on so it’s only a matter of time. Was Melo the only problem on this Rockets team? Absolutely not but his discontentment was growing and could begin to affect the team.
Melo is on his way out the door. He’s been playing nearly 30 minutes a game so there is a big hole to fill in the rotation. These three guys will be seeing a role increase in the wake of Melo’s departure, let’s take a look.