The 2019-2020 NBA has been a season of redemption. It feels like the calendar turned back to 2009, Dwight Howard is having fun playing the game of basketball. Melo finally got back in the league, still making big shots in the clutch. And CP3 made his way back to the All-Star game for the first time since 2016!
Dwight Howard
First of all, if you don’t think that Dwight Howard is a Hall of Famer, then we need to talk.
Dwight Howard, the first overall pick by the Orlando Magic in the 2004 draft. He is an eight-time All-Star, eight-time All-NBA Team honoree, five-time All-Defensive Team member, three-time Defensive Player of the Year, and the list goes on. Prime Dwight Howard was one of the most dominant big men the league has ever seen, only 8th graders would think otherwise. Howard averaged almost 21 points & 14 rebounds with 2.5 blocks and shot 59% from the floor during 2008 to 2012. He was the last true center to carry a squad to the finals and even was a MVP candidate.
“Superman” has been on quite a journey. He went from Orlando Magic to Los Angeles Lakers to Houston Rockets to Atlanta Hawks to Charlotte Hornets to Brooklyn Nets (traded & waived) to Washington Wizards to Memphis Grizzles (traded & waived) and back to Los Angeles Lakers. All the teams that Dwight Howard has bounced around, none of them seemed to really like him on his way out the door. The Washington Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard said dealing Howard was “the quickest trade I’ve ever done in my life,” ouch…
Six years later after having his rights owned by six different teams, including two that bought him out without ever having him suit up for them. This year, Dwight Howard is revitalizing his career coming off the bench for the Lakers. He has been the rebounding and defensive leader for the bench unit. Despite Javale McGee being the starting center, often we see Dwight closing out games and playing starter minutes averaging about 19 minutes a game goes along with 7.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks.
When the Lakers signed Dwight Howard (non-guaranteed deal for $2.56 million) late in the off-season because of DeMarcus Cousins’ injury, many questioned how he could possibly fit on to the team. To this point, the Lakers and fans should be happy with what Dwight Howard has provided to the team. He doesn’t always pile on the points but his hustle and defensive efforts have been great. He is doing exactly what the Lakers brought him in to do. “He’s bought into his role on this team… he’s being a star in his role and dominating on the defensive end”, the Lakers’ head coach Frank Vogel said. As a reward, the Lakers guaranteed Dwight Howard’s $2.56 million contract for rest of the season. Sure the 34-year-old is nowhere close to his “Superman” days anymore, but it’s wonderful to see Dwight Howard back and enjoying the game.
Carmelo Anthony
Melo is the most hated and disrespected superstar, it’s crazy.
Anthony started out with the Denver Nuggets who drafted him 3rd overall in the 2003 NBA Draft, which included LeBron James as the 1st Overall Pick, and Dwayne Wade as the 5th Overall Pick. With the Nuggets, he put together a really good starting resume, averaging 25 points per game in 8 seasons. He later got traded to the New York Knicks in the 10-11, where he was playing his best basketball. Later in the 2017-18 offseason, Melo was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder where he became teammates with Paul George and Russell Westbrook. There he averaged 16 points per game before moving on to the Houston Rockets.
After playing just 10 games for the Houston Rockets in 2018, Anthony was eventually traded to the Chicago Bulls and the Atlanta Hawks, he did not make an appearance for either team. Melo then spent the rest of the 2018-2019 and the beginning of the 2019-20 season without a team.
I still wonder, how the hell was Melo not on a team for so long?
Carmelo Anthony is a definite lock for Hall of Fame. His NBA credentials are more than enough. 6 All-NBA teams, 10-time All-Star, a former scoring champion, a three-time Olympic gold medalist and Team USA’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder. Melo also led Syracuse University to a NCAA title in 2003.
Melo was once the purest/smoothest scorer in the league before some dude named Kevin Durant came. Prime Melo was a different beast. Post-up, mid-range, crossover, he was unstoppable. The man needed no space to score, stupid fast first two steps, his jab step was unequaled. He could also be a great one-on-one defender. At 6’8, 230 pounds, Melo was a nightmare. In 2012, the late Kobe Bryant told Stephen A. Smith that Carmelo Anthony is the “most difficult” guy for him to guard in the league.
On November 19, 2019, Anthony was finally signed by the Portland Trail Blazers, the team that needed some front court help, to a one-year non-guaranteed deal. Although the 35-year-old hasn’t been in the NBA for a year, the veteran has not lost his shooting touch like he never left and has been a huge offense production for the Blazers. He’s averaging 15.3 points with 6.3 rebounds per game. Since coming back, Melo has had multiple efficient shooting nights, putting in a great defensive effort including this game winner against the Toronto Raptors.
Vintage Melo, still clutch.
Carmelo Anthony has been a huge success story for the Portland Trail Blazers this season. Real ones know how good Melo was/is. Seeing Melo back in the league and does his thing makes me happy, he is one of the smoothest offensive skill sets in this generation. Melo is a legend, and people need to put some respect on his legacy.
Chris Paul
Point God, that’s all I have to say about Chris Paul.
CP3 is the smartest and craftiest point guard in the league, he will go down as a top 10, if not top 5 point guard ever in the history.
Throughout his career, CP3 averages 18.7 points, 4.4 rebounds, 9.9 assists, and 2.3 steals per game. He is a 10-time NBA All-Star, 4-time All-NBA First Team, 7-time NBA All-Defensive First Team, 2006 NBA Rookie of the Year, 4-time NBA assists leader, 6-time NBA steals leader, and a two-time Olympic gold medalist.
Chris Paul was selected at fourth overall in the 2005 NBA draft by the New Orleans Hornets. CP3 came into the league and immediately took over. He was a floor general at its finest. He almost unanimously won the Rookie of the Year Award, leading all rookies in just about every category. There were even MVP talks with him in only his first two years. CP3 led the Hornets to be a 50-win team and playoffs appearances every year when they had no business being there.
In 2011, Chris Paul was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers, his arrival rejuvenated not only for his career, but the whole Clippers franchise. Teaming with young Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, the “Lob City” was primed to be a threat in the Western Conference.
Man, that was a fun team to watch.
However, the team just couldn’t get over the hump of not being able to make it past the conference semifinals. The trio of Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and Deandre Jordan just wasn’t good enough in a stacked Western Conference, and after a half of the decade, Paul knew he needed a change.
In 2017, Paul was traded to the Houston Rockets to team up with James Harden. There was a lot of questions whether Chris Paul and James Harden could coexist. The duo led the Rockets to the 1-seed for the first time in franchise history with 65-17 record. CP3 finally reached the Western Conference Finals against the Golden State Warriors. He had an outstanding performance in the postseason, but after going up 3-2, just one win away from the NBA Finals, Paul suffered a hamstring injury that kept him out for the next two games. The Warriors ended up winning the series and eliminating the Rockets, talk about what-if… The Rockets made the playoffs again in 2019, but eventually got sent home by the Warriors again in the second round.
In the summer of 2019, Chris Paul was shipped to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Russell Westbrook. Coming off of his worst individual season since he was a rookie, there were concerns about Paul’s durability, or if he could return to the level that made him one of the best point guards ever. Many considered him “washed”. Nobody was sure if CP3 was going to remain as a player on the rebuilding Thunder roster, or he was going to a championship contender.
Chris Paul stayed with the Thunder and accepted his leadership role with open arms. Paul plays the mentor role perfectly for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Dennis Schroder, Darius Bazley, and all the other guys. One of the greatest floor generals of all time has the Thunder positioned for the playoffs in the Western Conference when they were supposed to be in tank-mode. As of now, the Thunder is sitting at 5-seed with the record of 40-24, no one saw that coming.
Call this guy “washed” but he is leading the league in clutch points this year. At the age of 34, CP3 is having a legendary season: 17.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, 6.8 assists, 49.0% FG, 36.2% 3PT, 90.0% FT, 77% at the rim, 53% from midrange, 39% on non-corner threes, 56% eFG.
And let’s not forget about this alley-oop dunk in his return to the NBA All-Star Game for the first time since 2016.
Yup, that was the first alley-oop dunk of his career.
CP3 has gotten better with age, it seems like he hasn’t regress at all. What LeBron James is doing in year 17 is amazing. But what Paul is doing in his 15th year, age 34, as an undersized point guard, is equally as impressive. CP3 definitely still got game, and he has been the catalyst behind this unexpected season in Oklahoma City. We should cherish Chris Paul, a future Hall of Famer and probably the most creative point guard while he’s still here.
Word on the Court 