76ers Issue Concerning Injury Update on De'Anthony Melton

What's going on with De'Anthony Melton?

After missing their veteran guard for multiple weeks, the Philadelphia 76ers were happy to get De’Anthony Melton back in the lineup late last month.

On February 23, Melton was upgraded to available against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Although he’s been a full-time starter when healthy, the Sixers had him come off the bench with a minutes restriction as they eased him back into the swing of things.

For his second game back, Melton continued to come off the bench, but saw a slight increase in playing time. By collecting a little under 19 minutes of action, Melton drained five of his 12 shots from the field for 16 points in the loss against the Bucks.

During his third-straight outing against the Boston Celtics, Melton’s night ended prematurely. As he dealt with back spasms, Melton’s night ended after just eight minutes. A few days later, 76ers head coach Nick Nurse mentioned that Melton would be out for an undisclosed amount of time as he suffered a setback related to the back injury he’s been battling for the last couple of months. 

At first, it seemed Melton’s absence could be on a game-to-game basis. At this point, the Sixers issued a concerning update, making it clear that the veteran guard will miss multiple weeks once again.

According to a team official, Melton started up an “offloading period.” The guard will be evaluated in roughly two weeks.

Melton missed the previous four games for the Sixers, including Wednesday night’s matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies. Based on the two-week re-evaluation timeline, it appears that the earliest Melton could return to action would be the March 22 matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers. 

Considering Melton might need a ramp-up period following the two-week timeline, there is a solid chance his absence could extend past the next eight games. 

So far this season, Melton has missed 26 games. When healthy, he’s produced 12 points, four rebounds, and three assists per game while shooting 36 percent from deep. As a standout two-way player, Melton is a key contributor on both ends of the floor and should have a role waiting for him when he’s back in action.