Billy Donovan Defends Carmelo Anthony Playing in Crunch Time for Thunder

Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan remains confident in Carmelo Anthony despite what was a disastrous sequence in the team's 108-105 defeat to the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday.

"Listen, Carmelo didn't shoot the ball particularly well, but he's shot the ball well his whole, entire career," Donovan said, per the Norman Transcript's Fred Katz. "You know what I mean? I felt really good about the shots that he got."

Katz shared Donovan's full comments:

Anthony subbed in for Jerami Grant with 6:25 left and the Thunder leading 94-93 in Sunday's game. He proceeded to miss four three-pointers and turn the ball over with 8.7 seconds remaining. He finished the game 3-of-13 for six points.

The 10-time All-Star discussed the final stretch of the game, per ESPN.com's Royce Young:

NBA analyst Nate Duncan believed Anthony's negative impact wasn't limited to offense:

Anthony's reputation obviously precedes him. He's a 44.9 percent shooter overall and 34.8 percent shooter from beyond the arc. Entering Sunday, his 25,308 points were third-most among active players.

Generally speaking, Donovan's faith in Anthony isn't misplaced, either. According to NBA.com, the Thunder have a 4.2 net rating in clutch situations with Anthony on the court.

At the same time, Donovan shouldn't be inflexible about his late-game lineups. Grant had a plus-12 plus-minus rating and 17 points off the bench Sunday. His strong performance, coupled with Anthony's poor shooting, provided enough justification to either let Grant finish the game or at least play more of the fourth quarter.

One could also argue the Thunder would benefit from having one fewer ball-dominant star on the floor late in games. Grant or another role player could better complement Paul George and Russell Westbrook than Anthony would.

Donovan's late-game strategy will be a storyline worth following toward the end of the regular season and into the playoffs.