Sixers Guard's Lack of Minutes Explained Ahead of Sixers vs. Nets

Could De'Anthony Melton see an increase in minutes for the Philadelphia 76ers' Sunday afternoon game against the Brooklyn Nets?

Going into his second game since returning from his long absence due to a back injury, Philadelphia 76ers guard De’Anthony Melton might’ve anticipated an increase in minutes.

Typically, a player in his position would see his role slowly increase every game he appears in since returning. Melton checked in for under 16 minutes in his first game back against the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday.

While 76ers head coach Nick Nurse hoped to get Melton more playing time in the second matchup against the Orlando Magic on Thursday, that clearly wasn’t the case.

In the 12-point win over the Magic, Melton checked in for five minutes. During that time, he took three shots to score three points, while producing one rebound, one assist, and two steals.

Was there a setback in play?

“I thought he looked fine physically,” Nurse admitted, shooting down that notion.

So, what was the cause for the lack of minutes?

“Just got kind of a ten man rotation. Eleven man rotation. We’ve tried to keep them all in there. Thought maybe he had a better matchup. Again, I thought Kelly [Oubre] was playing well, Tyrese [Maxey] was playing well, sometimes it’s hard to get him in there,” Nurse explained.

Before Melton started experiencing a back injury, he started in 33 games for the Sixers while averaging 29 minutes on the court. In the five matchups he appeared in from February until the final week of the regular season in April, Melton garnered a reserve role, seeing the court for just 12 minutes per outing.

“I would certainly love to sit here and say Melt got 15 minutes again tonight like we planned, but it just didn’t happen tonight,” the head coach added.

The Sixers have one game left on the schedule and it takes place on Sunday afternoon against the Brooklyn Nets. Currently, Melton is questionable to play due to back injury recovery. While the Sixers are undecided on his playing status, Sunday’s game could be a major opportunity for Melton to take one step closer back to where he was pre-injury.

“I thought he looked good and was moving good,” Nurse finished. “Hopefully, Sunday will give him a chance.”

The Sixers and the Nets tip-off at 1 PM ET.

UPDATE: De'Anthony Melton has been ruled OUT vs. Nets.