Portland Trail Blazers: All-Defensive Player speaks to the toughness, leadership of Carmelo Anthony

On “All the Smoke,” Clippers star Paul George discussed his relationship with Trail Blazers forward Carmelo Anthony, why he’s become misunderstood, and why he was the NBA’s toughest player to guard.

Carmelo Anthony created the blueprint for a Hall of Fame career through jab steps, quick stop-and-go moves, and lightning-quick spin moves to evade even the most prolific of defenders. But even after carving out a role as a leader and model teammate for the Portland Trail Blazers, there’s one defensive move that he and his legacy haven’t been able to shake …

The dichotomy between how the media views him, and how fellow teammates — both past and present — view him.

The narratives based around Anthony’s perceived “me-first” mentality have followed him better than any lock-and-trail defensive method, or any All-Defensive Team player could. But as more teammates continue to come forward about their experience in playing alongside the 10-time All-Star, cooler opinions are prevailing.

Los Angeles Clippers star Paul George was the most recent player to step up in support of Anthony, during his appearance on SHOWTIME Basketball’s All The Smoke with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson.

George and Anthony shared the court for a brief time in 2018, as members of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Some of the storylines centered around Anthony’s inability to conform to team basketball were built during that brief cameo. George addressed those on the pod.

"“Melo is a real one. And I got to spend time with Melo with Team USA, so, that’s where our relationship really, our bond, really came. Melo was a real one. What people don’t understand … Melo sacrificed. Melo wasn’t the issue.What happened was, me and Russ got traded there and literally, Billy (Donovan) had, you know, this is no excuse. But Billy had a plan for me and Russ. Then literally like right at the last minute, is when we got Melo. So now, Billy’s like ‘I don’t know how to incorporate it. Y’all was my two guys. Melo just gonna have to find his way.I tip my hat for Melo. Melo was 100 the whole time. He let me and Russ run the show. His only thing was, ‘Cool. It’s their team. I can be used more though. Don’t just have me being a spot-up player. Y’all can play through me sometimes, too.’Which we understood. We agreed like, we could play through Melo a little bit more. That wasn’t the plan that they wanted going forward. So, we really just missed out on an opportunity of us three being able to play together.”"

Sometimes, this is how sports works. It takes a few years for stories to come about, but it does make the lack of cohesiveness between Anthony and the Thunder a bit more understandable.

Carmelo Anthony, historically, is a player who doesn’t address a lot of the negativity written about him, instead, taking it to the chin. It certainly helps his case for a 6-time All-Star to be speaking positively of him.

Along with that, George doubled down on the Carmelo Anthony praise when asked about who the toughest player in the NBA for him to guard was. He and the crew had this exchange.

"George: “Toughest player (to guard) … KD and Melo. Top of my list of toughest players I’ve ever matched up against.”Barnes: “People don’t understand. I’d say Melo too. I think Paul Pierce gets left out sometimes, but Melo was someone that when he was on his s–t, there wasn’t a hole in his game. And he knew he didn’t want to pass that b—- so when he got it, you’d better be ready to guard.George: You knew you had to rest, you had to like, after games, you’ve got to ice down. Cause I caught him the first time when he was in Denver. And then, when he got traded. And so, he was bully-ball. Miss it, go get it. Miss it, go get it. And he had me on weights. He was just strong as hell. He was the toughest cover I ever had to match up with.”"

George has become a lightning rod for Portland Trail Blazers fans over the last few seasons. But on this episode, he was transparent and honest about some of his own shortcomings. The link to the rest of it can be found above.