De’Anthony Melton’s offensive turnaround fueled by return to basics — and ribbing from 76ers teammates

De’Anthony Melton took a pinpoint transition bounce pass from Joel Embiid in stride, then threw down a one-handed slam to help punctuate the 76ers’ second-quarter run against the Brooklyn Nets.

Perhaps to the surprise of Embiid and fellow teammate Tyrese Maxey, who have playfully-yet-relentlessly razzed Melton in recent days about any glitch in his game.

“I’m just excited he can dunk,” Maxey said after Sunday’s game. “… Please, dunk the ball and make some layups. That’s all I ask.”

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No harm in such lighthearted mocking when Melton has rebounded from a poor offensive start to the season with a strong week for the 10-3 Sixers, and pushed his averages to 11.8 points, 3.8 assists, and 3.8 rebounds. The authoritative finish was one highlight during Melton’s 21-point performance in a blowout victory over the Nets, which also included five rebounds, three steals, and an 8-of-10 shooting mark. Melton’s stabilization has been an important development for the Sixers, now that he is entrenched in the starting lineup following the James Harden trade.

“We knew it was coming, though,” Maxey added about his backcourt mate with a more sincere tone. “He was struggling early, but Melt’s a great shooter, great basketball player. … He’s great defensively. We know what he brings to the table there.

“And then when he’s making shots, he just takes it to a whole new level.”

After he shot 30% from the floor in his first eight games, Melton’s averages have skyrocketed to 56.6% from the floor, including a blistering 60.7% on 5.6 three-point attempts per game in the five games since Nov. 12. He has reached double figures in each of those contests, including a 30-point outburst in a loss to the Indiana Pacers. And he continues to fill out the box score, averaging 4.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.2 steals during that stretch.

Sunday in Brooklyn, Melton buried a three-pointer to cap the Sixers’ 13-4 run to start the game, and later finished a tough shot in traffic. He was a vital part of the initial burst to take control of the game, breaking a 44-44 tie with another deep shot before that dunk off the Embiid feed gave the Sixers a 12-point advantage. In the third quarter, Melton took a kick-ahead pass from Tobias Harris for another breakaway slam. And he complemented that with his always-active defense, including one steal when he used his long arms and timing to leap and snatch the ball out of the air.

“He’s kind of got both of those things [the three-pointer and inside finishes] figured out right now, and it’s huge for us,” coach Nick Nurse said. “Because there should be a lot of crowded paints, so we’re going to need to shoot over those sometimes.”

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Melton said this offensive surge has been a product of getting “back to the basics” of mechanics, footwork, and ball placement on his shot. Nurse added that he believed Melton — who shot 39% on 5.2 three-point attempts per game last season for the Sixers — was “probably rushing a little bit in some of those early games,” instead of using the ample space and time to set his feet and fire confidently.

More encouraging for Nurse were Melton’s conversions at the rim. Melton acknowledged he had “been terrible” before Sunday, which is confirmed by his 9-of-33 mark on layups and 5-of-22 on shots at the rim ahead of that game, per Basketball Reference. Nurse said the coaching staff has been putting Melton through a lot of situational drills to foster a confident mentality on those inside shots.

“I’ve seen this before, and I hope it’s the case with him,” Nurse said, “is that as we continue to get the mindset [of] we’ve got him there, he’s taking it in there, the coaches keep drilling and you just get better at it. Then, once you have a little success, you get a little bit motivated to go back to work in the gym, and it kind of just builds from there.”

Those close-range whiffs were the main source of ribbing following the Sixers’ win at the Atlanta Hawks, when he missed three of his four attempts. While answering an unrelated question at his locker, Embiid came over to mimic Melton saying, “I’ve got to work on my layups.” Then after a reporter mentioned that Hawks superstar Trae Young also had dropped Melton to the ground with an early crossover dribble move, Embiid piped up again.

“Oh, did he get put on the floor today?” Embiid said. “Oh my. I forgot about that!”

“This interview’s over,” Melton playfully retorted, before asking to make sure this comment was on the record: “They bad teammates.”

Less than 48 hours later, though, Melton assured that he also receives motivation from his peers in a more earnest way.

» READ MORE: The Sixers became a better team without James Harden. And they did it together.

During those early outside-shooting struggles, for instance, Melton said Maxey kept telling him, “No matter what, at the end of the season, that three-point percentage is gonna say ‘above 40.’”

When Melton’s all-around performance Sunday warranted being selected for the postgame television interview, Embiid interrupted by entering the shot to yell, “Keep shooting, Melt!”

“That type of stuff lets you know who you are,” Melton said. “… That’s the type of stuff you need to keep going.”

In the locker room a few minutes later, however, a lingering Maxey chuckled when he realized Melton had been asked about those layups.

It was all Maxey had asked for, as part of Melton’s offensive turnaround.

“Just keep attacking no matter what,” Melton said. “I’m going to keep hearing it until I start making them, so I might as well start making them.”