Does De’Anthony Melton’s Role Change in James Harden’s Absence?

Currently, the Philadelphia 76ers are dealing with some notable changes. While they aren’t permanent, the Sixers are going to have to adjust early on in the year to stay afloat in the Eastern Conference.

Soon, the Sixers should get their All-Star center Joel Embiid back in the mix. As the big man’s been battling the flu, Embiid has missed the team’s last three games. In addition, the Sixers lost James Harden to a tendon strain after Wednesday’s game against the Washington Wizards.

With Harden out, the Sixers acknowledged they simply couldn’t find one player to replace him — including the rising star guard Tyrese Maxey. Instead, it will take a group effort to make up for what they lose in the stellar playmaker and scorer.

Earlier this week, Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey noted that with Harden out, he’ll have to take on more ball-handling duty.

“I’ll be ball-handling a little bit more and try to facilitate a little bit more to get guys in their spots,” said Maxey. “Same kind of thing I had to do at beginning of last year before we got him. Just still be aggressive and find ways to help us win games.”

Maxey’s specific role doesn’t change much, but he’ll be expected to do a little more of everything as he moves up to becoming the team’s clear-cut second offensive option when Embiid returns to the floor.

As for the Sixers’ other guard De’Anthony Melton, he believes his role won’t have a drastic change either.

“I feel like my role is not going to change too much,” said Melton on Friday night. “Just go out there, play with energy, and affect the game on both ends.”

Similar to Maxey, Melton will be expected to do a little bit of everything, helping run the offense, which isn’t foreign to the former Memphis Grizzlies standout.

The only change for Melton is that he’ll more than likely see the floor for more time.

“Probably an increase in minutes,” Melton continued. “Other than that, just continue to play the way I play.”

Going into Friday’s game against the New York Knicks, Melton averaged 22 minutes on the floor for the Sixers. He started in two of eight games, becoming the fifth starter when Joel Embiid was ruled out, and Doc Rivers opted to go small, using PJ Tucker as the center.

Without Harden in the fold, Melton collected the start on Friday and played for 30 minutes. It wasn’t his first time clocking in for over 30 minutes on the Sixers, but that kind of playing time will frequently come for Melton now as long as Harden is recovering.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.

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