When the Philadelphia 76ers acquired De’Anthony Melton from the Memphis Grizzlies on draft night in June, they knew they were getting a guy who can legitimately contribute on both ends of the floor.
A big example of that came Monday in a 118-111 win over the host Washington Wizards. Melton had 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting and three assists. At the other end, he bothered Wizards star Bradley Beal into a tough shooting night.
After the win, Maxey joined NBC Sports Philadelphia courtside and he was asked about Melton as well as the play of PJ Tucker. He gave a lot of love to Melton:
They’re balling, man. Melton has found his niche. PJ, he’s been around for 35 years so he’s been in the league a long time, so he knows what he’s gonna do. He played with James before so he knows exactly what the spacing is like and everything that he needs to do to play with him, but Melton’s huge man. They call him Mr. Do Something for a reason and that’s what he does. We asked him to guard Bradley Beal, we asked him to make open 3s, we asked him to roll, we asked him to pop, we asked him to do so many different things on the basketball court, and that’s what he does.
It was a slow start to the season for Melton, who was helpful defensively, but he couldn’t find a groove offensively. However, to end the road trip, he looks to be in a nice rhythm and more comfortable.
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“Honestly, the two things is just playing with him more, No. 1,” coach Doc Rivers told reporters “No. 2 is touching the ball. The first two games, he never really touched the ball a lot. Now we’re sharing the ball more as a team, and he feels more involved. He’s such a disrupter defensively, and again, I keep saying it, I knew he was good, I didn’t know he was this good, defensively. His hands are just incredible.”
The Sixers return home on Wednesday to face the Wizards again.
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