Carmelo Anthony Still Jobless As Several Contenders Struggling To Score

If you listened closely enough, you could almost hear Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham calling for Carmelo Anthony in his postgame news conference after yet another Lakers loss Wednesday night. 

Melo, IT, Kemba, Boogie, Lance, Beasley all out there ready to hoop though? The NBA has gone so young and gotten obsessed with the 3&D thing, then teams hit a wall because they can’t score. The name of the game is buckets. pic.twitter.com/KOytt2m7f3

— Ball Don't Stop (@balldontstop) November 10, 2022

"We welcome any and all scorers. Whether they're 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th or 7th (options)," Ham told a media member. "If you can score, we'll work you out tomorrow." 

It sort of sounds like a call for Melo, doesn't it? Anthony, 38, the former 10-time All-Star was a nice scoring piece off the bench for the Lakers last season, averaging 13.3 points and 37.5% from long distance. The Lakers' 3-point shooting has been dreadful this season, one of the factors in their 2-9 start.

Lakers 3P% this season through 11 games
29.3%

Carmelo Anthony's 3P% last season for LA
37.5%

But they called Juan Toscano-Anderson in free agency because he was younger🤷‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/r7SkhP5ZSV

— CTRL the Narrative (@ctrlnarrative) November 10, 2022

And before you say it—Anthony's defensive metrics were actually better last season than they had been in years.  

But the Lakers aren't the only team in need these days. 

Surprising NBA records to start the season..

Miami Heat (4-7)
Brooklyn Nets (4-7)
Golden State Warriors (4-7)
LA Lakers (2-8)

Carmelo Anthony’s phone should start ringing real soon pic.twitter.com/axWGd2OjJ0

— Me7o World (@MeloCentral) November 8, 2022

The Miami Heat are just 4-7 to start the season, and we know about the Golden State Warriors' struggles. The Nets might need to replace some of Kyrie Irving's scoring if he can't meet the team's return-to-play plan from his suspension. 

Joining Melo on the outside looking in are some other dudes who can score the ball a bit if given the chance, including Isaiah Thomas and Kemba Walker. 

It'll be intriguing to see if their phones do indeed start to ring. 

Photo: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports