PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers acquired De’Anthony Melton for his ability to play both ends of the floor. He has been as good as advertised. He has been great defensively, and he has shot the ball well on the other end.
However, there will be an occasional night when he struggles. It happens. It’s basketball.
In Monday’s win over the Toronto Raptors, Melton shot 3-for-14 from the floor and he was 2-for-11 from deep. He was 0-for-7 from the floor overall and 0-for-6 from deep at halftime. He didn’t score until the 7:20 mark of the third quarter.
However, instead of pouting, Melton stayed with it and he drilled two huge 3s in the fourth quarter to help the Sixers rally when the Raptors took the lead. That is because Joel Embiid and the rest of the team stayed on him to keep shooting.
“We’re always on him,” said Embiid. “Me, especially. Everybody really because I know that as long as they keep shooting whether it’s him, Tobias (Harris), PJ (Tucker), James (Harden) guys coming off the bench, as long as they keep shooting, it doesn’t matter if they make it or not, it makes my job easier.”
Coach Doc Rivers echoed Embiid’s comments regarding Melton. Despite his rough start, Philadelphia wanted to make sure he stayed aggressive and took the open looks he received.
“We got him at halftime, I think he was 0-for-7, he had one right before halftime, and he should’ve shot, but didn’t,” said Rivers. “We jumped him at halftime like either you are a shooter or you’re not. You’re a shooter all the time even when they’re not going in.”
Even with the poor shooting, Melton still played a big role in the win on Monday. He was terrific on the defensive end. He was a big reason Toronto star Fred VanVleet shot 3-for-15 and 2-for-11 from deep on his end for the Raptors.
“He had a human night,” Rivers said of Melton. “He had, I would say seven just point-blank looks, and they just didn’t fall for him. You keep him out there because defensively, he was phenomenal again. So you keep him out there on the floor because of that.”
Philadelphia has won five in a row, with many thanks given to Melton for his play. The Sixers look to keep the streak going when they host the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday.
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