Mike D’Antoni says Carmelo Anthony ‘a lot better fit’ for Rockets than Knicks

Following weeks of speculation, former All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony has finally moved to Houston. He recently inked his one-year, $2.4 million deal to join the Houston Rockets.

This has him on track to play under head coach Mike D’Antoni. Anthony will play for him for the first time since the two were together with the New York Knicks. According to Sam Amick of USA TODAY Sports, D’Antoni has voiced that it will be different this around for both of them together in Houston.

Want $250 to bet on NBA futures?

“In New York, when they gave away half the team (to Denver in the February 2011 trade that brought Anthony to the Knicks) and everybody expected us to win a championship, it really wasn’t realistic. It put a lot of pressure on everybody, and it kind of burst the pipes. I think this is totally different. We’ve got a team that is a whole bunch of veterans that really, we’ve got one thing in mind, and that’s to win a championship, and we have the possibility. We never had a blow-up before, so it’s not he wanted to play a certain way and I kind of wanted to coach another way.

“Back then, there wasn’t even analytics. I was going by my gut, and he was going by (his) gut, and it’s just, you know, styles clash. And I think now, things have changed and everybody is playing the same way. I think it’s a lot better fit and I think we have a really good chance to be really good.”

Read: Michael Porter Jr “Pain Free” After Second Surgery

It is an entirely different situation with the Rockets possessing a playoff-caliber roster that wasn’t gutted out to land Anthony. The team possesses two of the best guards in the league with Chris Paul and reigning league MVP James Harden leading the charge.

Instead of him being the driving offensive factor, he will be a supplementary scorer. He will have plenty of quality shot attempts from the playmaking ability of both Harden and Paul. It could be quite a prosperous opportunity for him while potentially making yet another deep playoff run.

Ultimately, this will have to be proven on the court if things are different this time.