The Reason Why Carmelo Anthony Will Not Play Against Los Angeles Lakers

By Neil P. First Posted: Dec 28, 2020 09:50 AM EST

Latino and Portland Trail Blazer Carmelo Anthony will not travel with Portland Trail Blazer to Los Angeles in their scheduled game against the Lakers.

(Photo : Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Many wondered why the Latino and Portland Trail Blazer star player Carmel Anthony did not travel with his team to Los Angeles for their scheduled game against the champion team Lakers. Anthony even tweeted on Saturday that he is excited to play against his close friend Lebron James.

Why Anthony Did Not Travel With Portland Trailblazers

The Portland Trail Blazers is scheduled to have its first match against the Los Angele Lakers this season on Monday. But the game will not be exciting as is expected because Carmelo Anthony did not travel with his team to Los Angeles.

According to a published report in CBS Sports, it is still not clear the reason for Anthony's decision not to join the team. However, the report said that the COVID-19 health and safety protocols have prevented Anthony not to travel but it is not clear which among the provisions hinder him.

Anthony's decision was announced on Sunday. Meanwhile, before the team made the announcement, Anthony played against the Houston Rockets on Saturday, and on Sunday afternoon he tweeted about his excitement playing against close friend Lebron James.

This means that what prevented Carmelo Anthony not to travel with his team and to play against the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday was recent and unexpected. There are no reports also if Anthony is showing any signs of COVID-19 that might hinder him from playing.

Some Possibilities Why Anthony Can't Play

There are many possibilities why Carmelo Anthony cannot play. Even though the COVID-19 test result is considered there could be other several factors too. Technically, Portland Trail Blazers did not even rule Anthony out of the game but they only declare Zach Collins as out due to injury.

So far, only the Houston Rockets is the only team in the NBA that have lost players due to the violation of health and safety protocols. Some of their players tested either positive or inconclusive of the virus while James Harden was fined $50,000.

The last time that Portland Trail Blazers played was against the Houston Rockets on Saturday but none of those offending players played. Until today, there are no details yet why Anthony did not travel with his team.

Additionally, Portland will be on the road for the next four games but they will only have two stops, in Los Angeles and San Antonio. It is also not clear if Carmelo Anthony will appear in Portland's next scheduled games but they assured that they have enough forward players to replace the position of Anthony.

During the offseason, the team acquired Robert Covington and Derrick Jones Jr. that might replace Anthony in the starting line-up. Even though they wanted Anthony to be with them, they are prepared for whatever happens in this situation.