Inside Sixers: A new home, De’Anthony Melton’s chess skills and avoiding the MVP narrative

As the court at Fiserv Forum cleared out Sunday morning, Paul Reed shot free throws on the far end while James Harden went one-on-one against skill development coach Jason Love on the opposite side.

This has been the common scene on all 76ers road trips. Yet Sunday marked their final gameday morning session of the regular season, another reminder that the playoffs are finally approaching. The marquee showdown against the Milwaukee Bucks hours later lacked playoff-like sizzle, however, after the Bucks torched the Sixers’ defense early and rode that to a 117-104 victory that was not as close as the final score.

Whether the Sixers (51-27) had won or lost against the Bucks, they are a near-lock to face the Brooklyn Nets in the postseason’s first round beginning next weekend. Still, they have one more week to sharpen themselves against opponents — and get healthy, with stars Joel Embiid and James Harden coming off injuries — including another anticipated matchup against the Boston Celtics Tuesday night before finishing with a home date against the Miami Heat on Thursday and road games at the Atlanta Hawks on Friday and Nets on Sunday.

“Just keep trying to trend in the right direction,” standout guard Tyrese Maxey said. “That one happened [against the Bucks], and you’ve got to move on from it and play Boston in a couple days.”

Here are some behind-the-scenes moments from the Sixers’ past week:

Even after returning to Philly following their four-game road trip, the Sixers still walked into an unfamiliar place.

They officially moved into a new locker room at the Wells Fargo Center for Wednesday’s win over the Dallas Mavericks. Throughout the pregame period open to the media, players and staff such as assistant coach Dave Joerger wandered in and out to navigate their way around the new digs.

“It feels like we’re still on the road,” Maxey said.

The room is a significant upgrade from their previous accommodations, which lagged behind the vast majority of NBA home locker rooms. It features bigger locker spaces with more storage for each player. The shape is more circular, with better sight lines for when coaches or players address the full group. A video board scrolls through pertinent announcements such as pregame warm-up times, that night’s food menu and the travel itinerary.

One bells-and-whistles amenity: The circular light feature on the ceiling changes color based on the jersey the Sixers wear that game.

Before the news popped that Embiid would miss last Monday’s anticipated showdown against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets, the arena had the buzz of a big-time regular season game.

Harden, who had been expected to return from Achilles soreness before being ruled out less than an hour before tipoff, finished his individual work after shootaround by throwing the ball off the glass for a dunk — prompting teammate Georges Niang to holler “He’s ready to go!” from a courtside seat.

Minutes later, a Denver television reporter asked Maxey about the MVP race between Embiid and Jokic. That led to some playful commentary from nearby teammate De’Anthony Melton, who believed the reporter was trying to bait Maxey into feeding into the discourse that has sometimes turned nasty.

“He’s trying to get you,” Melton said with a smile.

And when Maxey was asked if he was “surprised” Embiid said there is no rivalry between him and Jokic, Melton responded with, “He wants them to hate each other.”

» READ MORE: How the Sixers’ Joel Embiid debunks George Karl’s ‘lazy’ label and makes his MVP case

Maxey, who is both accommodating and savvy in such media sessions, would not bite.

“We just go out here and play, honestly,” Maxey said in an understandably politically correct response. “I think Joel just goes out there and plays, as well. He’s not really going out there saying he’s putting up stats for MVP. He’s putting up stats so we can win. That’s what we appreciate him doing.”

Without the Sixers’ two stars against the Nuggets, Maxey anchored his team with 29 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals in the loss at Ball Arena.

Melton spent part of Thursday bent over a chessboard, matching up against some of the area’s best youth players.

He and the Sixers hosted more than 40 children from the After School Activities Partnership for the “Make Your Move” tournament, where the first- and second-place finishers won tickets to Friday’s Sixers win over the Toronto Raptors. Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey also participated in the event.

“I almost didn’t even want to leave,” Melton said. “It was good to see all the kids’ faces, smiling and stuff like that. They were high-level chess players, so it was good to see how I stacked up.”

Melton taught himself how to play chess as a high-schooler in North Hollywood, Calif., when he stumbled upon classmates playing the game in a study room and took interest in where each piece could be moved on the board.

“I just fell in love with it,” he said.

» READ MORE: NBA coaches speak to dominance displayed by Joel Embiid, one of the league’s most unstoppable players

Now, he plays almost daily through an app on his cellphone. He’s also a regular at the board set up in the Sixers’ meal room at the Wells Fargo Center, where teammate Paul Reed, head strength and conditioning coach Ben Kenyon, associate strength and conditioning coach Stephen Brindle and sous chef Julia Cushing also play.

Naturally, Melton said he is the best of that Sixers group. But how did he stack up against those kids?

“I got me a ‘dub,’” Melton said. “That’s the most important thing. I was close in a lot of games, but they’re definitely skilled. They practice, and it shows.”

Niang has worn three numbers in his NBA career: 20, 32 and 31.

He chose 32 as a rookie with the Indiana Pacers, a nod to college coach and Iowa State legend Fred Hoiberg. Then when Niang went to the Utah Jazz, he switched to 31, the number he wore playing summer ball as a kid.

But when arrived in Philly, former Sixer Seth Curry had already claimed 31. So Niang veered to 20, the number given to him in high school.

“I heard [Curry is] not a cheap ticket to buy his number off of,” Niang said.