Carmelo Anthony continues resurgence as he earns NBA POW honors

Each week the NBA names a player of the week from both the East and West. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Carmelo Anthony got the nod, but was it warranted?

On Monday afternoon, the NBA announced the Players of the Week from the week of November 24-30. Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks took home the honor for the East, whereas Carmelo Anthony of the Portland Trail Blazers earned the nod for the West.

Both players put together impressive stat lines for the week. Let’s look examine both, starting with the Greek Freak:

Doing freaking things

Giannis led the Bucks to a 4-0 record. Posting wins over the Jazz, Hawks, Hornets, and Cavaliers. In the four contests, when he was on the hardwood, Milwaukee was plus-47. The mark ranked second on the team behind second-year guard Donte DiVincenzo, the sophomore out of Villanova has done a good job supplementing what the Bucks lost with the departure of Malcolm Brogdon.

Antetokounmpo’s stat line:

• Points Per Game: 34.8
• Field Goal Percentage: 57.4
• 3-Point Percentage: 26.9
• Free Throw Percentage: 55.8
• Rebounds Per Game: 11.3
• Assists Per Game: 4.0
• Steals Per Game: 1.3
• Blocks Per Game: 1.51
• Personal Fouls Per Game: 1.8

One area that particularly jumped out from Greek Freak’s stat line was his fouls per game. Giannis Antetokounmpo has already fouled out of three contests this season, and he has committed five fouls in two other games. Reducing his fouls to fewer than two per match is a large step in the right direction for Milwaukee’s superstar.

The question remains, will he be able to consistently limit his fouling?

The resurgence of Melo

When the Blazers added Anthony, the reactions were mixed. Be that as it may, the results have been positive thus far. The Blazers have gone 3-3 since adding Melo, and 4-1 since All-Star guard Damian Lillard returned on November 23.

Like Giannis, Melo and the Blazers were undefeated, registering a 3-0 record with wins over the Bulls (twice) and the Thunder. Perhaps, the most impressive facet of this feat for Melo is he’s the oldest player to win player of the week since Tim Duncan did so during the final week of the 2014-15 season.

Anthony’s stat line:

• Points Per Game: 22.3
• Field Goal Percentage: 57.4
• 3-Point Percentage: 45.5
• Free Throw Percentage: 88.9
• Rebounds Per Game: 7.7
• Assists Per Game: 2.7
• Steals Per Game: 0.7
• Blocks Per Game: N/A
• Personal Fouls Per Game: 3.7

The fact Anthony was less than two percentage points away from recording a 50/40/90 for a week is profoundly impressive. Additionally, Anthony posted some impressive advanced statistics. Melo’s offensive rating was 126.7, good for ninth in the NBA, whereas his net rating was 28.2, placing fourth in the association among 269 players.

Who else had a case for Player of the Week?

James Harden scored 60 points through three quarters versus the spiraling Hawks. He could have won the weekly award, and few would have been upset. It felt right for Anthony to win it because his comeback is such a feel-good story. Harden will likely win it later on this season when he puts up some otherworldly scoring numbers.

Check back the following week to discover which two players capture the league’s weekly honors next.