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Carmelo Anthony season review – Aging superstar at career precipice

By Wil Harrington

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - APRIL 21: Carmelo Anthony
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - APRIL 21: Carmelo Anthony /
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Carmelo Anthony
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – APRIL 15: Carmelo Anthony #7 of the OKC Thunder before the game against the Utah Jazz during Game One of Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on April 15, 2018 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Did his defensive presence make up for the offense troubles?

Carmelo Anthony has never been known for his defense, but is sneaky-strong down low. Below are a few defensive takeaways statistically.

  • His defensive rebounding was right on par with his career average (though offensive boards per game average was below 1.0 for the second consecutive year).
  • His blocks per game numbers were right around his career average of 0.5 per contest, while his steal numbers fell for a fourth consecutive season to 0.6.

Defensively, he was what OKC Thunder fans anticipated. Then again, NBA stars do not often shine as brightly on the defensive end as they do on offense. As expected, his offensive numbers dipped playing alongside Russell Westbrook and Paul George.

The percentage declines may have been the most impactful, as Melo seemed to struggle shooting all season. He did play in 78 games, the most he has played in a season since 2005/06.

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