Carmelo Anthony: Poor Fit with Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki?

Carmelo Anthony and Dirk Nowitzki.

From a marketing standpoint, that would be a phenomenal combination to build around. They both can score in bunches and they both are recognizable to the majority of basketball fans from around the world.

However, if you're looking for success on the basketball court, then you should not pair these two guys up.

Anthony is arguably the most versatile scorer in the league. At 6'8", 230 pounds, he's quite a match up for opposing guards and forwards. He can take smaller defenders inside and he can use his athleticism on the wing against bigger defenders. The former Syracuse University forward can drive, post and shoot from the outside.

Nowitzki is one of the most prolific scorers the NBA has ever seen. At 7'0", 250 pounds, you would figure that the German-born superstar would be playing center. However, he has the range of a guard. He can shoot from the outside and he also has moves going to the basket. His height makes it rather difficult to stop him from scoring.

For the uninformed, these two guys should be averaging a combined 50-55 points a night for a team. However, basketball doesn't work that way.

If you watch the Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets play, you'll easily notice what type of offensive scheme they run. The Nuggets immediately get the ball to Anthony, while the Mavericks run their offense through Nowitzki. Then the isolation begins. Neither one of these guys is all that effective when playing without the ball. They're more than likely standing around instead of making cuts or finding open space on the floor for a spot up jumper.

The Mavericks would be better off finding more complementary pieces for Nowitzki, instead of finding an equal.