3. Carmelo got whatever he wanted in 2nd half
Carmelo Anthony is in his first season with the Houston Rockets and there are many fans in that city who were ready to send him on a slow boat to … just about anywhere … after the Rockets’ 1-5 start.
He made a couple of 3-balls in the first half Friday against the Brooklyn Nets, scoring 12 points before the break.
Then he got very warm, very quickly.
Melo canned 2 3s from almost the same spot on the floor in the third quarter and added a couple of more in the fourth from very near that location, finishing 6-for-9 from deep and scoring 28 points.
Anthony was getting to that sweet spot almost at will, either off a screen action or sometimes just by walking into it.
Defensively, Brooklyn was slow to get to that spot, slow to figure out that was the spot he wanted to get to and helpless to stop him once he got the ball in that spot.
Professional basketball is a game of constant adjustments and counter-moves, but the Nets never really came up with an effective one to either pressure Melo when he got to the spot or, ideally, keep him from his spot altogether.
Give a sniper room to snipe and they will pick you apart, just the way Anthony did in the second half Friday night.