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Melo starts in Trail Blazers debut vs. Pelicans

Layne Murdoch Jr. / National Basketball Association / Getty

Carmelo Anthony started at power forward in his Portland Trail Blazers debut, scoring 10 points on 4-of-14 shooting in 24 minutes of play during the club's 115-104 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday.

Head coach Terry Stotts expects the veteran to remain in that starting role beyond his debut, according to Marc J. Spears of ESPN's The Undefeated.

"I don't see why not," Stotts said, according to ESPN's Andrew Lopez.

Injuries have already decimated Portland's frontcourt depth. Big man Zach Collins is out for at least four months, while centers Jusuf Nurkic and Pau Gasol remain sidelined indefinitely.

The Trail Blazers were previously using a combination of Mario Hezonja, Nassir Little, and Anthony Tolliver at power forward, but the trio was relatively ineffective.

Portland made Anthony's non-guaranteed deal official earlier Tuesday.

The 12-time All-Star hasn't appeared in an NBA contest since November 2018 when he suited up for just his 10th game with the Houston Rockets.

Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard didn't play against the Pelicans due to back spasms.

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