Mike D’Antoni Wants to Bring Melo Off Bench

Ay P, they say I gotta come off the bench.

It looks like ​Carmelo Anthony will be starting on the pine for the first time in his career, with a new report surfacing suggestion Rockets Head Coach Mike D’Antoni wants to start Eric Gordon.

According to reports, ​Houston Rockets head coach

Mike D’Antoni reportedly wants to bring Carmelo Anthony off bench, start Eric Gordon. https://t.co/PnxgL9lgNt pic.twitter.com/wID3LnOmvV



— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) September 26, 2018

And, from all reports, it looks like Carmelo is more receptive to the idea than he was last year at OKC.

Rockets’ Carmelo Anthony open to possibly coming off bench: Whatever it takes to help win a championship https://t.co/oFyf24h36E pic.twitter.com/YFMPYD3omG



— CBS Sports NBA (@CBSSportsNBA) September 25, 2018

Anthony, the only player in NBA history to have scored more than 50 points in a game with none ever coming from the paint, will now have to take on a different role, working with the second unit, which will typically play against second unit defence — which could mean BIG things for Melo.

And it couldn’t have come at a better time.

Last year, Anthony struggled finding his spots in the Thunder offense, shooting a career-low 40 percent from the field and averaging a career-low 16.2 points per game.

We’re expecting those sort of numbers coming off the bench this year for Anthony, perhaps even more, depending on minutes played.

It’ll be a strange thing to see, but we can’t wait to see how Melo and the Rockets work out in 2019.