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HOUSTON – The Toyota Center crowd greeted Carmelo Anthony with a big ovation when he arrived at the opening of the season with only 7:12 left in the first quarter – the first time the 10-player star was out of NBA career bench.
Local fans have not had too many other opportunities to encourage the Rockets, while pelicans from New Orleans made a rout 131-112 Wednesday night at one of the worst defensive defenses in Houston in recent years.
This is the highest number of points the Rockets dropped in a regular match during coach Mike D's term Antoni, while Houston allowed one to score as many points in 48 minutes on Jan. 17. 2015, against the Golden State Warriors. , according to ESPN Stats & Information research. The margin of defeat was more unequal than any Houston defeat last season, when the Rockets had the best record in the NBA at 65-17.
The Rockets ranked sixth in the NBA in defensive efficiency last season, but Houston lost to blockers Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah, an independent player in the club and associate head coach and defensive guru Jeff Bzdelik.
"We know we are one of the best offensive teams, but we want to reflect that with our defense," said Anthony. "Tonight was not an indication of that, but we will get better.There are a few things that did not unfold as we did not do tonight." not enough release on the defensive side. "Let's not talk about it." We were not a defensive unit tonight – it's something we can learn from. "
Anthony, who had a disappointing offensive performance with nine points on three out of 10 shots, said there would be a "learning curve" by the time he would adjust to a bench after starting. the first 1,054 games of his career. According to Elias Sports Bureau, only Patrick Ewing (1,118 games) had several consecutive starts to start a career in the NBA since 1970-1971, at the time of the first follow-up.
The first returns were encouraging for Anthony, whose first try was a dribbling jumper just inside the 3-point arc, which is typically the type of shot that D'Antoni is discouraging. Anthony made a 3 in transition thanks to a help from James Harden on the following possession. He had another transitional bucket in the first minute of the second quarter, recovering a feed from Chris Paul after getting rushed to the pitch and taking a stand on his defender.
But Anthony, who had never had a chance to be a single-digit player in the first game of the season, missed his last six shots off the ground. He said his new role as a reservist was not an excuse for not keeping pace, but Anthony acknowledged that it was a terrific transition.
"It's more difficult than anything, mentally, to get ready for the game," said Anthony. "Apart from that, it's an end-to-end challenge, it's just knowing how I'm going to respond to that challenge and accept that challenge, what I am, what I will do."
"For me, at this point, it 's more of what I have to do for the sake of the team than to try to do anything or try it. To have a specific role, each night will be different, but for the most part it's a challenge, but it's something I'm going to get used to quickly. "
Anthony informed the Rockets that he was open to the position that the coaching staff had judged best when he signed a minimum contract with a veteran in July after being taken over by the Hawks. # 39; Atlanta.
Anthony, 34, has just had the worst statistical season of his 15-year career. He recorded career lows scoring (16.2 points per game) and as a percentage of goals (.404) with the Thunder, claiming that after the current season he had trouble getting acquainted with an unknown role.
Dr. Antoni, who ran into Anthony about the offensive philosophy during their brief stint alongside the New York Knicks but long ago buried the hatchet, expressed his gratitude for the willingness of the attacker to accept a reserve role. Dr. Antoni appealed to the Hall of Fame Bob McAdoo, who helped the Los Angeles Lakers of the Showtime era to win two titles as a reserve, as an example of his hopes for Anthony.
"I know this is not the ideal situation for him because he is a member of the Hall of Famer and all that," said Antoni about Anthony before Wednesday's game. "I know it's a big fit, but you know what? He is true to his word. He said it would do anything for the team. We think that It's better today.This may not be better later – we do not know – – But to have it, it's something we did not have not last year.Of course, it is really good.
"I know it's difficult, we thank him for doing so and trying to help us win a championship."
So that the Rockets can fight again, their terrible defensive performance against the Pelicans must be an aberration.
Houston was particularly helpless against the front / center rotation of the three men of the Pelicans, Anthony Davis, Nikola Mirotic and Julius Randle combined their efforts to score 87 points on 33 out of 56 shots.
Davis, an eternal NBA-based artist determined to confirm his status as the NBA's best player, was absolutely dominant. He led the Pelicans with 32 points, 16 rebounds, three blocks and three interceptions, and he has offered eight career assists. Half of Davis' pennies went to Mirotic, who scored 30 points on 11 shots out of 20, including 6 out of 8 to 3 points.
"Obviously, the strength of our team lies in our big players, and I thought we had been very successful in getting the ball inside," said Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry. "Then I thought our big players were really patient until the double teams came and made the right decisions."
Antoni said the Rockets had made the wrong decision to double Davis several times, allowing the superstar to trap them in bad rotations.
"It happens when you are tired," said Antoni. "It happens when you panic a bit and want to do too much, when I say we do not have energy, it's not that we do not want it. It's just this first game, our legs are dead.You know, fatigue makes the cowards out of everyone, and we were tired.It was just tough.We'll fight we are going to have our feet in the sea and we are going to start. "
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