In what would appear to be yet another example that public humiliation is a fine motivational tactic, Carmelo Anthony admitted that he's been working harder to grab more rebounds so he doesn't get called out during the Oklahoma City Thunder's film sessions. Melo made that admission during a Q&A session with the media on Monday:
"I hate to look at film and coaches are getting on me about not rebounding the basketball," he said. "I think that's more of the reason why I'm attacking the glass like I am. I just don't like to watch film the next day [and] my teammates are like 'Melo, come on, you got to get that rebound. You had two rebounds, three rebounds.' Just not acceptable."
Asked if avoiding embarrassment is a factor in his increased hustle, Melo responded "Absolutely," before adding "The next day after a game you do not want to be on that film session for saying that you made a bad play, you didn't rebound the basketball, even though it's all laughs and jokes at the end of the day you got to hold yourself accountable for that. And I don't like looking at that."
While his current numbers on the glass are pretty in line with his career averages, Melo is currently third on the team in boards per game (6.0), and second in defensive boards per game (5.2). The increased focus on getting after the ball has come in a season where he's taking less shots than he did in NYC, thanks to a new role with a new squad. As for his team, it took awhile to get rolling, but OKC has jumped to fifth in the West thanks to an impressive stretch in which they've won 12 of their last 17 games. Call it the Hoodie Melo effect.
