Playoff Melo is back!
Playing against his former team in the first-round of the playoffs, Carmelo Anthony had a spectacular performance in Game 1 of this series off-the-bench. In 22 minutes, Melo scored 18 points and knocked down four big three-point shots.
‘Playoff Melo’ has always played better than regular season Carmelo Anthony and it showed in Game 1 of this series against Denver. We know what to expect from Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum, as well as Norman Powell at times, but getting that extra little bit of production from Carmelo Anthony is going to be huge for them moving forward.
After being out of the league a year or two ago, Carmelo Anthony has found life again in the league with the Portland Trail Blazers and he has been huge for them down the stretch run of the season and into the playoffs.
Given that the Nuggets are banged up right now with Jamal Murray out for the season and both Will Barton and P.J. Dozier questionable for the series, the Blazers need to take advantage of Denver offensively, which is why getting these types of performances from Melo is huge.
If Carmelo Anthony comes out in Game 2 and is knocking down shots like he did in Game 1, it is hard to imagine that Denver would be able to beat Portland.
