Portland Trail Blazers: Jones Jr, ROCO to start, Carmelo Anthony on bench

Portland Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts has outlined how Derrick Jones Jr. and Robert Covington will start, so Carmelo Anthony will come off the bench.

In his first press conference of the 2021 season, Portland Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts has outlined how Derrick Jones Jr. will likely start at the three with Robert Covington at the four, thus meaning Carmelo Anthony will come off the bench.

Because of Rodney Hood‘s minutes restriction after his return from injury, and the proximity to the start of the season, Jones Jr is going to get the start. Blazers beat writer Casey Holdahl broke the news during a press conference.

This would mean a starting lineup of Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, Jones Jr., Covington, and Jusuf Nurkic. When looking at the Blazers’ resources, this makes the most sense.

Hood can ease his way back into NBA action, while Melo can be a shot creator off the bench with McCollum as the lead ball-handler and Gary Trent Jr at the two.

This bench lineup will have the perfect balance between offense and defense, with Harry Giles and Enes Kanter likely to share the backup bigs spot and then adding in Zach Collins when he returns in January.

It is also pleasing to see that Melo has accepted a backup role off the bench. There was concern among some national NBA writers that he wouldn’t be happy about this, but this actually shows the growth of Melo as a teammate that he will accept a role that is best for the team.

Hood can rejoin the starting lineup when he is fully fit. I would expect him to slot in at the three next to Covington, with Jones then moving to the bench.