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On January 15, the Philadelphia 76ers made an adjustment to their starting lineup – replacing Tyrese Maxey with De’Anthony Melton – which they have continued to use when the team has been fully healthy ever since.
However, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer detailed the slump that Melton has been dealing with over the past five games.
“The problem is Melton, for the most part, has been in a funk in the five games heading into Saturday’s 110-107 loss to the Boston Celtics at the Wells Fargo Center,” Pompey said. “During the five-game stretch, he averaged 5.0 points on 31.8% shooting — including 28.6% on three-pointers — along with 1.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.4 steals, and 20.4 minutes.”
Pompey compared that to Maxey’s play over that same stretch, which only called into question why Melton continued to get the starting nod over Maxey.
“Meanwhile, Maxey averaged 19.4 points on 47.9% shooting — including 36.7% on three-pointers — along with 2.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.0 steal in 33.2 minutes during the same five-game stretch.
“While Maxey remains one of the team’s leading scorers, Melton hasn’t resembled the elite defender he needs to be in the starting lineup. And it was telling when the Sixers went with Jalen McDaniels and P.J. Tucker for defensive stops over Melton late in Thursday’s game.
“That alone would lead some to ask why is he still a starter.”
Why Melton Should Still Start Over Maxey
Pompey explained why re-inserting Maxey into the starting lineup over Melton, simply put, is wrong.
“Melton remains the best option for the Sixers, who want to start games with a perimeter defensive presence on the floor.
“Even though he’s shown some cracks, the fifth-year veteran is tied for third in the league in steals at 1.7 per game. Melton is also sixth in the league in deflections at 169.”
Pompey then explained why it’s better for Maxey to remain in the second unit.
“The sixth-man role shouldn’t be something long-term. It’s just more impactful for the team this season,” Pompey said. “It allows him to be the offensive leader of the second unit instead of taking a back seat to Harden-Joel Embiid two-man game. In the starting lineup, most of his importunities came on the receiving end of up-the-court passes in transition.”
Pompey explained the advantages of coming off the bench and the disadvantage of starting next to James Harden.
“But off the bench, he gets to handle the ball more and be more impactful. And if we’re being honest here, the starting backcourt of Maxey and Harden has been a defensive liability.”
Joel Embiid Urges Maxey to be Aggressive
After the Sixers lost to the Celtics, Joel Embiid said that Maxey needs to be more aggressive when he’s on the floor.
“I think, my main thing for (Maxey) is to just be aggressive,” Embiid said, per Ky Carlin of Sixers Wire. “Obviously, everybody watches film and everybody knows what he does best. I was just giving him an example about how I’m sure people watched film on me and then they probably know what I want to get to, but then again, there’s so many ways you can, even if they want to take it away, there’s so many ways you can set them up and still being able to get to whatever shots you want or whatever spot on the floor.”
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