Carmelo Anthony Will Sit Saturday vs. Spurs

Carmelo Anthony will not play in Portland’s second leg of a back-to-back when they take on the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night. He’s listed with an ankle sprain, but it smells more like a rest day for the 36-year-old vet.

Carmelo Anthony is OUT for tonight's game versus San Antonio with a right ankle sprain.

— Casey Holdahl (@CHold) May 8, 2021

Anthony played 18 minutes on Friday night as the Trail Blazers took out the Los Angeles Lakers 106-101. The former New York Knick went just 1-3 from the field with a 3-pointer on the night. Carmelo saw a 13-game streak of double-digit scoring come to an end last night with the three-point effort. The Blazers forward has been incredibly efficient for Portland lately as Anthony rarely has played over 20 minutes in a game recently.

Without Carmelo coming off the bench, Anfernee Simons and Enes Kanter should see a boost with the second unit. Kanter can be added for $4900 at FanDuel, while Simons will cost you $3800. Derrick Jones Jr., who didn’t see the floor last night, could find some minutes in Anthony’s absence and since it’s a back-to-back for Portland.

At the FanDuel Sportsbook, the Blazers are -5.5 home favorites with a -230 moneyline while the total is set at 232.5.