5:26 PM
When he was ejected for the second time in his 19-year career on the court in Detroit on Sunday, he was escorted off by three team security personnel.
He had another visitor from the team. If there was any time for the Lakers to start looking like the team they all believed they were destined to become, it was now.
Anthony said on the video conference call that he needed to believe in the bigger picture. We were looking for something like that when I grabbed everybody's attention in that moment. It happened to me last night. It could be someone else tomorrow. It was time for something to be said to get the car going. We needed that.
After assembling one of the most accomplished rosters in league history over the summer, it's been a rocky road for the Lakers. They went winless in the preseason, saw a few rotation players suffer injuries, had a confrontation between teammates in the second game of the season, and then came the James-Isaiah Stewart incident in the star's second game back after an abdominal strain.
Anthony said that they needed something like that to jump start them. "We have not been tested like that all season, and that was a major, major test that we passed last night."
The Pistons were down by 12 at the time of the ejection and 15 at the start of the fourth quarter before the Lakers came back to win. Anthony's message was well received.
A source present for the huddle said that he was great. "Poised." It's calm. It is clear. Everyone was kept together. The ultimate vet.
He scored 18 on 5-for-8 shooting and added two assists and two blocks. The Lakers defeated the Pistons by 13 in 30 minutes.
"Melo has been great for us," Frank said after the game. I can't say that strongly enough. He's been a champion for all the causes of what we're trying to do. The defensive commitment and buy-in is needed to play for each other. He spoke up to say that we can't let this turn out to be a loss. We have to rally around this. Credit to him.
Even if he isn't the star he once was, Anthony still carries a certain gravitas, even if he isn't a household name.
Why did I speak up? Anthony said that he was who he was. It's a part of who I am. It's natural for me to speak up when it's time, I'm a guy who doesn't say much, but it just happens. It wasn't premeditated. It was at that moment when everyone should be together. We saw what was happening. The game could've gone, it could've been worse.
The Lakers are hoping the worst is over. The NBA's investigation into the incident was still open and there was no word on any further discipline, according to Vogel.
They interview all of the parties involved and then make their decision. They are still in that part of the process.
Anthony did not want to think about not having James on the court for the Knicks game if he was suspended.
He said that they were not going to put that energy out there. We're not going to put that energy there.
