Sixers discuss where they have missed De’Anthony Melton’s presence
CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers are beginning to get healthier as the season continues into 2024. After two consecutive losses, the Sixers will look to get back on track on Wednesday when they take on the Atlanta Hawks.
The Hawks feature two very talented guards in the form of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray as well as role players who fit well around them. It will help the Sixers to have De’Anthony Melton back on the floor to bother those two guards. While Melton is listed as questionable for Wednesday’s matchup, he did practice on Monday and Tuesday so there is a real chance he plays in the contest.
After giving up 72 points in the paint in the loss to the Utah Jazz on Saturday, the Sixers will be looking to Melton to give them a boost on the perimeter defensively which is where they’ve missed his presence.
“Probably at the point of attack on defense, right?” said coach Nick Nurse. “I think that that was certainly an issue the other night and that was one of the suggestions my coaches made this morning was that we missed Melt up there. He gets his hands on some balls, guards the ball pretty well, gets a lot of deflections and things for us as well. So, I’d say there mostly.”
Along with his defensive ability, Melton is an important piece of this team’s offense. He averages 12.1 points and shoots 36.5% from deep in 31 games to begin the season.
“He’s very underrated though,” added Nic Batum. “He can do anything. On defense, he’s a very great defender. On defense, he’s playing very great. On offense, he can score from everywhere. He can score, he can drive, shoot from 3, pull up, whatever. He is a very underrated player.”
While the focus in Philadelphia is the play of Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, the Sixers need the others to step up and produce. Melton plays an important role in what Philadelphia does on the floor.
“Everybody on this team plays a pivotal role in our success and so his shot making ability, his ability to defend and switch on different guards, different forwards as well,” stated Tobias Harris. “His overall presence was missed for us in the time that’s been out. So hopefully we get him back tomorrow, too.”
The Sixers and the Hawks will match up at 7:30 p.m. EST on Wednesday.
