Sixers’ De’Anthony Melton hopeful to return Monday vs. Dallas Mavericks
Melton, the team’s best perimeter defender, has missed 10 straight games with a back injury.
SALT LAKE CITY – Nick Nurse thinks Sixers shooting guard De’Anthony Melton will be back “fairly soon.”
How soon is fairly soon?
“Hopefully, I will probably play in the Monday game,” Melton said of the team’s upcoming contest against the Dallas Mavericks at the Wells Fargo Center.
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The Sixers (30-17) were off Friday. They’ll host the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday and will probably practice on Sunday. If so, that could give Nurse, the Sixers’ first-year coach, a full-practice setting to evaluate his best perimeter defender. Melton has missed 10 straight and 13 of 15 games with lumbar spine stress response.
As of Thursday, he’s only had two on-court workouts since last playing on Jan. 12. He worked out before Tuesday’s loss to the Golden State Warriors at the Chase Center and before Thursday’s victory over the Utah Jazz at the Delta Center.
“It felt good,” Melton said. “It felt good, man. I just [had] to chop the cobwebs off at first. After that, I was good.”
Melton did 20-minute workouts before partaking in conditioning drills.
“So now, it’s just getting used to moving around again,” he said. “You know what I mean, getting back [to being] confident with myself, and just my body.”
Melton is fourth in the league in steals at 1.6 per game. He’s also tied for fourth in deflections (3.2) and sixth in deflections per 36 minutes (4.0). In addition, the 6-foot-2, 200-pounder is averaging a career-best 11.8 points along with 4.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and a career-best 29.1 minutes. Melton had a season-high 30 points against the Indiana Pacers on Nov. 14.
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After entertaining the Mavs Monday, the Sixers will host the Warriors Wednesday and the Atlanta Hawks Friday to complete their four-game homestand. Then they’ll have a two-game road trip against the Washington Wizards on Feb. 10 and Cleveland Cavaliers on Feb.12 before hosting the Miami Heat on Feb. 14 in the final game before the All-Star break.