The consistently wild and competitive Western Conference has been the marquee division in the NBA for over two decades now, especially when it’s postseason and the stakes are higher.
This year’s no different despite all the chaos generated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The restart of the season is fast-approaching and the West’s final playoff spots are still up for grabs for six teams.
The Portland Trail Blazers are among the squads fighting for a chance, and while they have the star power to potentially survive the scramble, there’s a considerable void in the small forward/three position. It’s been the team’s constant weak spot for the last several seasons.
Trevor Ariza, who was acquired this past January to bolster the position, decided to opt out of the NBA’s return to spend more time with his family. He’s a playoff veteran and the ultimate ‘3 and D’ player that the team just needed, and his absence cold very well be a big blow. Ariza averaged 11 points, 1.6 steals, and 1.6 threes per game on 49.1% shooting in 21 games.
Rodney Hood, meanwhile, the guy Ariza was supposed to be replacing, is still out with a torn Achilles tendon. He had similar numbers prior to getting hurt (11 PPG, 1.7 3PG, 50.6% FG) and was someone people were looking forward to as he was clutch for Rip City in the 2019 playoffs.
That leaves Carmelo Anthony as the only small forward who may pose a threat to the opposition – that’s right, “may.”
Criticism aside, though, this is actually intriguing. Defenses have not gotten much chance seeing Anthony play the spot as of late as he’s been mostly in the power forward/four position for Portland this season.
The 17-year vet also appears to be excited returning to his natural position. Here’s what he told NBC Sports in a recent interview:
“The good thing is that I get to go back to my original position, which is playing at the three where I’m actually very comfortable at. I’ve been doing that my whole life. Just over the past couple years is where I started moving, transitioning towards playing the four more. We’ve got teams that is going small, so that was to my advantage as well, but I think today in this game it’s positionless.”
“There’s no positions, no more today. So it doesn’t matter when people put an emphasis on you’re playing the three or you’re playing the four, we out there playing at the end of the day. The schemes are going to be the same. We’re going to figure it out.”
Melo joined the Blazers last November and has since appeared in 50 games. He’s averaging 15.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.4 threes on 32.5 minutes of play. Although only fourth on the team in scoring behind Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, and Hassan Whiteside, he has sporadically acted as the second or first option on offense. He has scored 20 or more points 14 times this season, and has led the team in single-game scoring on five occasions.
We’ll see if Melo’s playoff experience, scoring ability, and undying midrange game will be of factor in the intriguing return. The addition of Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins, who are both set to return from injuries, may also allow Melo to focus more on what he does best.
The Blazers are 3.5 games out of a playoff spot. They are chasing the Memphis Grizzlies and will also closely compete with the New Orleans Pelicans, a team they are virtually tied in the standings.
