76ers Expect De’Anthony Melton’s Return vs. Cavaliers Friday

The Philadelphia 76ers looked forward to getting healthier during their week-long break as the 2024 NBA All-Star weekend events took place in Indiana.

While the Sixers landed a few reinforcements ahead of Thursday’s game against the New York Knicks, they still have a few players in recovery.

Philly’s starting guard, De’Anthony Melton, has been battling a back injury since early January. While he returned to the floor after a three-game absence on January 10, Melton would last just two games before landing on the injury report.

Unfortunately, his setback led to a 17-game absence. While the Sixers held out hope that Melton could return against the Knicks on Thursday, he was ruled out for the 18th game in a row. Prior to Thursday’s matchup against New York, 76ers head coach Nick Nurse reportedly noted that the team anticipates Melton’s return on Friday against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

De’Anthony Melton will return tomorrow night vs. the Cavs.
— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) February 22, 2024

Melton’s second season with the Sixers poses a critical one, considering he’s playing for a new contract. After getting off to a slow start, Melton began to hit his stride. Unfortunately, the back injury halted his progress.

At this point, Melton has just 33 games under his belt for Philadelphia this year. In roughly 29 minutes of action, the veteran guard has averaged 12 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Before going down, Melton was knocking down 36 percent of his threes on six attempts per game.

With Philadelphia, Melton has started in 91 of 110 games he’s appeared in over the last two years. With the Sixers adding new players at the trade deadline and tweaking their lineups in the absence of Melton, it’s unclear if he’ll resume with a starting role or not.

The 76ers are set to host the Cavs for the second night of a back-to-back on Friday at 7:30 PM ET.