Las Vegas – Carmelo Anthony spent a few mostly miserable weeks riding the bench in the Olympics three years ago.
These days, however, the only time Anthony seems to sit is during blowouts or when he is injured.
And the latter was the case Wednesday night, when Team USA defeated Uruguay 118-79 in the FIBA Americas Championship tournament. The Nuggets forward missed the game because of a bruised right heel.
Anthony is averaging 21.7 points, the highest by an American in the Olympic qualifier. He complained of the pain Wednesday morning, though it wasn’t known if he was injured in Tuesday’s victory over Puerto Rico.
The injury wasn’t considered serious, meaning Anthony should return tonight against unbeaten Argentina in a game that will determine the No. 1 seed in the semifinals.
Michael Redd started in Anthony’s place Wednesday.
Despite his team-leading scoring average, Anthony’s biggest contribution might not have been with a basketball in his hand. It might have been with a telephone.
When the Cavaliers’ LeBron James was thinking about not playing this summer, possibly jeopardizing his status for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, it was Anthony who called and reminded James he had given his word to be in Las Vegas.
“He was probably the main reason why I came back here,” James said. “Just him being a good friend of mine and just having that camaraderie and just knowing that I’ve had years in the FIBA and he’s had years in the FIBA. So being able to pass the word along to some of the new guys that we were going to have, him being a good friend of mine, I thought it was important for me to get back here.”
