Understandable desperation is, nonetheless, desperation.



I hope it works out for Carmelo Anthony in Portland. We know Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum not only want it to work, but also that they’ve been lobbying for it for two years. “Speak it into existence,” McCollum famously said in the summer of ’17, when he went to New York to try to convince Melo to come to the Rose City. And it’s obviously crucial that the Blazers’ two stars be on board if this experiment has any chance of working, beginning Tuesday in New Orleans, with Portland currently 5-8 and tied for 11th in the Western Conference.



But, I have my doubts.



It feels like the most one can realistically expect is the sugar rush of a guy who will be able to put the ball in the basket until his dying day, which will no doubt help the Blazers win some games during the slog of a long NBA regular season. But does anyone think scoring is a real problem in Portland as long...