Houston Rockets: Carmelo Anthony has fit well in three preseason games

One of the biggest offseason acquisitions, Carmelo Anthony, is fitting very well with the Houston Rockets in three preseason games. Can that continue into the regular season?

Arguably the hottest talking point about the summer for the Houston Rockets was the signing of Carmelo Anthony. Melo is a player that the organization has been pursuing for quite some time and that wish finally came true this offseason.

The question then moved to whether or not he could actually fit with the current team the Rockets had put together. Houston had recently not re-signed Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute, opening the minutes for Melo.

The doubters have been all over the place. They don’t think he is a good fit in Houston and that he will only ruin the team chemistry. That hasn’t been the case at all, so far, as he’s been nothing but a good teammate who is willing to adapt to whatever circumstances are necessary. He showed that in yesterday’s game by coming off the bench for the first time in quite a while.

He’s also just been a great fit in three preseason games. Obviously, it’s the preseason and you can’t take anything too seriously. But Melo is hitting his shots and is getting more wide open shots than he’s probably seen in quite some time.

First three games

Melo isn’t putting up huge numbers in the first three games, but he’s scoring efficiently in a role that can really help the team. He came off the bench yesterday with the return of P.J. Tucker and struggled at first, but closed the game strong, securing the win by going 5-5 in the second half, including two makes from deep.

So far in three preseason games, Carmelo is a scorching 9/18 from downtown. He was a top wide-open 3-point shooter last season and that seems to have carried over in his brief stint in Houston so far. The ability to not only drill open 3s but create his own shot at times is a dangerous weapon for the bench of the Rockets to have.

If Eric Gordon ends up coming off the bench as well, that could be extremely lethal for the second units of opposing teams. The Rockets had a lower scoring bench unit last year, but that could all change in 2018-19. Look out NBA if Carmelo Anthony continues to fit in well with this team.

Still, it’s the preseason. Anything could happen between now and the start of the real games (9 days!). Hopefully, though, Melo continues to shine in Rockets red.