Carmelo Anthony to Come Off Bench in Rockets Debut vs. Pelicans

For the first time in his 16-year career, Carmelo Anthony will come off the bench.

The Houston Rockets announced their starters for Wednesday's opener against the New Orleans Pelicans, with Chris Paul, James Harden, James Ennis, PJ Tucker and Clint Capela in their lineup.

Anthony, 34, started the first 1,054 of his career with the Denver Nuggets, New York Knicks and Oklahoma City Thunder. He famously bristled at the idea of coming off the bench in Oklahoma City and opened up about why it's different with the Rockets in an interview with ESPN's Rachel Nichols:

"Well, I don't think that would never change. I know what I can bring, and I know what I still can do and what I still have. So, my confidence from that standpoint, yeah, I always have to say, 'I don't wanna come off the bench.'

"But knowing that ahead of time and having those conversations and going game-to-game and understanding, 'OK, we might need you to do this tonight. We might need you to do that tonight,' I have a clearer understanding of what my role is."

Anthony averaged a career-low 16.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game last season with the Thunder. It was the first time he ever averaged fewer than 20 points per game. His 40.4 field-goal percentage was also a career worst.

The Rockets are banking on Anthony being an offensive focal point of the second unit and hoping he does not become too much of a defensive liability. Houston lost Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute in free agency from last year's 65-win team. Ennis is expected to take over Ariza's role, and the Rockets need Anthony to shoulder a scoring load from a bench that struggled at times last season.

Odds are things will work out just fine if the Rockets are playing like one of the two best teams in the Western Conference. If things start to falter—particularly if Ennis struggles out of the gate—we'll get a look at how this "new year, new me" version of Melo holds up.