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[QUOTE="Orangezoo, post: 2316384, member: 237"]
I'll disagree here. Many times when people get upset with his defending it is due to rotations off switches. Even LeBron gets caught all the time. Melo is stronger more than quick in his defensive stance. As an on ball defender of a 3/2 he gets beat as much as any average defender would. In the post he is tougher to deal with given his quick hands and strength. Obviously if he is guarding a 7-2 center he has limitation.

Much of his defensive weakness was due to the fact he was an elite small forward who was not a great on ball defender. I would argue that is more the norm than not. Advanced stats along with this label tends to drive bias towards him being a poor defender as well.

The final issue is that he is not a flopper. He stands his ground, and has gotten into ample foul trouble for not pulling a duke move every time some one posts him up.

Overall he is an average defender.. below average vs small forwards and average to above average vs power forwards. Add his strength as a rebounder and it evens out.
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