The Loop
Carmelo Anthony doing his patented "FOH" rebound move, then hitting a 3 marked his official return to the NBA
History will show that Carmelo Anthony made his long-awaited return to the NBA on Tuesday night (was it really "long-awaited"?), when his new team, the Portland Trail Blazers, lost 115-104 on the road in New Orleans. Melo was in peak Melo form, shooting 4-for-14 from the field and posting a +/- of -20 (!!).
But Melo did not truly return until Thursday night in Milwaukee, where he pulled out one of his patented Melo moves in another Portland loss to the Bucks. About halfway through the third quarter, with the Blazers trailing by 11, Milwaukee's Wes Matthews drove to the bucket and went for a layup, bricking it off the back iron. Melo jumped to grab the board and screamed "F--- OUTTA HERE," then dished the ball to Rodney Hood before getting it back at the other end and immediately shooting (and making) a three:
This, my friends, is the most Melo sequence in Melo's career. My personal favorite part was the very beginning of the whole sequence. If you look closely, you'll see Melo make it appear as though he's going to contest Matthews' shot, then completely back away to let him have a free layup:
The funny thing? It worked! Matthews must have been ready for contact and was so thrown off by Melo wanting absolutely NO contact that he didn't realize just how easy of a layup he had. That paved the way for Melo to grab boards and scream "FOH" like he often has throughout is career. Seriously, there is a whole compilation of him doing just that on YouTube:
"GETOUTTAHERE K-LOVE!!" I love Melo so much. Good to have him back.