Why De’Anthony Melton’s return from back injury is ‘underrated’ for Sixers: ‘We miss Melt’

While trying to identify how to fix the 76ers’ recent slippage in their on-ball, “point-of-attack” defense, one assistant offered a pertinent reminder to coach Nick Nurse.

“We miss Melt up there,” that staffer said, referring to starting guard De’Anthony Melton.

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Following a three-game absence due to back soreness, Melton returned to practice this week and, though he was officially listed as questionable on Tuesday evening’s injury report, is optimistic he will play Wednesday at the Atlanta Hawks.

Though Melton’s health status does not draw the attention level of reigning MVP Joel Embiid (who has been ruled out for Wednesday’s game with knee swelling) or standout forward Tobias Harris (who is not listed on the injury report after missing Saturday’s loss to the Utah Jazz with ankle soreness), Melton’s shot-making and disruptive defense will surely be welcomed back by a Sixers team that struggled in both areas during its two-game skid.

“He’s a very underrated player,” said teammate Nico Batum, adding he is often surprised when he notices Melton’s well-balanced stat line in a game’s box score. " … You can’t forget about him. He has so [much] impact on the game by doing so [much] stuff.

“We need that, and we missed that, actually.”

The 25-year-old Melton is mostly putting up career-best numbers — 12.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.7 steals per game — in his first season as a full-time starter, the role he took over following the James Harden trade.

His reliable outside shooting (36.5% on a career-high 5.8 attempts per game) should provide a lift for a Sixers team that went a disastrous 7-of-38 from beyond the arc in Saturday’s loss to the Jazz. He also entered Tuesday ranked sixth in the NBA in steals and tied for third in deflections (3.3 per game), embodying Nurse’s relentless defensive style. The Sixers surrendered 72 points in the paint against Utah — which Nurse partially attributed to their inability to guard the ball — one night after allowing the New York Knicks to shoot 18-of-41 from three-point range, when the Sixers were often too late to properly contest those shots.

The timing of Melton’s return could be particularly advantageous against the Hawks’ backcourt of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray, who missed 20 of their combined 30 shot attempts in the Sixers’ Nov. 17 win at Atlanta.

Melton said Monday that this most recent flare-up is unrelated to last season’s back issues, and that the seriousness is “not to that extent, I will say that for sure.” He attributed the soreness to an increase in minutes (a career-high 29.4 per game) and practice time — and to when he took a knee to the thigh muscle in a Dec. 20 win against the Minnesota Timberwolves and the pain “shot up into my back.”

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By Tuesday afternoon, Melton had successfully gone through two intense practices. Continuing to strengthen the muscles around the back, such as the hips and glutes, will be key to staying healthy moving forward. Yet after Monday’s session, Melton said he “[feels] a lot better than I was before.”

Next, he hopes to bring aggressiveness and confidence to his return to the court. The Sixers will welcome back that toolbox of underrated contributions, starting with how he defends at the point of attack.

“Just go out there and be yourself,” Melton said.