When Carmelo Anthony and Paul George joined Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City this offseason, it looked like three superstars coming together to form a new superteam, an offensive juggernaut. But the Thunder are a dismal 17th in offensive rating.
One culprit: Anthony tends to play a lot of isolation basketball, preferring to have the ball in his hands to try to create scoring opportunities for himself off the dribble. This creates a lot of inefficient offense for OKC.
It's clear Thunder coach Billy Donovan recognizes the problem and has asked Melo to adjust to a new role in which he handles the ball less and works off the ball to get his shots.