USA Basketball Team for Olympics 2016: Why Carmelo Anthony Plays Better With the Rio Games Team than the New York Knicks
Carmelo Anthony is the first US men's basketball player to play in 4 Summer Olympics. LeBron James could have had the same record this year, but he chose to rest after a grueling 7-game NBA finals. His game transforms into another level as an Olympian, partly because he gets better looks, to the point that he almost looks like a new player altogether.
Anthony's Olympics career started in 2004, a USA Basketball Team that only won bronze. After that upset, team USA revamped their approach to the Olympics game, and has since been a dominant force in the international basketball scene; and Carmelo played a huge role in all the gold medal efforts.
Anthony only had 17 points and 11 rebounds, playing in 7 games during the 2004 Olympics. Since then, he has played a much bigger role, scoring more points and playing more games. In the 2012 Olympics, Anthony averaged 16.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
In an interview after one of their practices in preparation for 2016 Rio Olympics, Anthony said, "It really hasn't sunk in yet about the fact that I'm playing in four Olympics and have an opportunity to win three gold medals."
If team USA wins the gold medal in Rio, Anthony will become the most successful American in the history of Olympic basketball. He is the oldest and most experienced in the team, and just like Jason Kidd was in 2008, and Kobe Bryant was in 2012, this year, Anthony provides the leadership for a team looking to bring home the Olympic gold medal to their country.
Coach Nick, who hosts the YouTube channel, BBALLBREAKDOWN, pinpoints 3 key reasons why Carmelo Anthony plays better in the Olympics than with the New York Knicks. Here are the reasons:
1. Shorter 3-point line
As an Olympian, Carmelo Anthony often plays the role of a catch and shoot guy in the perimeter. It helps that the 3-point line is much closer to the basket, so all those long 2's that Carmelo has been hitting in the NBA are now worth 3 points in the Olympics.
2. Zone defense against Team USA
Most international teams aren't as athletic as the NBA players in Team USA, so they usually employ the zone defense to protect the paint and hope USA will miss shots from the outside. But Carmelo, along with his other teammates, is such a smooth shooter that he hardly ever misses these wide open shots.
3. He's almost never the best player on the team
With the New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony has to play alongside players who are not as talented as he is. This leads to him having lots of one-on-one possessions.
But playing with the USA Basketball Olympic Team, Anthony usually isn't the primary option on offense. Opponents have to worry about Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Paul George and practically every other NBA player on court, so that usually leaves Carmelo Anthony open for shots that he can hit all day.
