Melton (back) has been ruled out for Monday's Game 2 against the Knicks.
Melton hasn't been ruled out for the entire opening-round series yet, so his next chance to suit up will come Thursday when the series shifts to Philadelphia for Game 3. He's appeared in only five games since Jan. 12, so even if he's cleared soon, Melton figures to have a limited role in his return.
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76ers' De'Anthony Melton: Ruled out for Game 1
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Melton (back) has been ruled out for Saturday's Game 1 against the Knicks, Ky Carlin of USA Today reports.
Melton was unable to participate in Friday's practice session and will miss the start of the 76ers' first-round series. However, coach Nick Nurse said Friday that the team isn't ready to rule Melton out for the entirety of the series, so he should be considered day-to-day for now. The 25-year-old has appeared in just five games since Jan. 12, so even if he's cleared to return at some point during the playoffs, it wouldn't be surprising to see him face a minutes restriction.
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76ers' De'Anthony Melton: Won't play Wednesday
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Melton (back/injury recovery) will be unavailable for Wednesday's Play-In Tournament matchup against Miami.
Melton has logged just five appearances since Jan. 12, being unable to return to 100 percent after initially dealing with a lumbar stress reaction in his spine. Subsequent attempts to return to action have been short-lived, and his absence from Philadelphia's rotation is a notable loss defensively. Win or lose Wednesday, Philadelphia will have another postseason contest in store, but Melton's outlook is currently bleak.
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76ers' De'Anthony Melton: Misses another practice Tuesday
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Melton (back) missed the duration of Tuesday's practice, Ky Carlin of USA Today reports.
Melton also missed Monday's practice, putting his status for Wednesday's game versus Miami in real jeopardy. There should be more clarity on Melton's status when the 76ers release their injury report Tuesday evening.
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76ers' De'Anthony Melton: Sits out practice
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Melton (back) did not practice Monday, Ky Carlin of USA Today reports.
Melton returned from a 21-game absence back on April 10, but proceeded to sit out the season finale on April 14. For now, it's unclear if Melton's unavailability at practice was a mere precaution. He should be considered questionable for Wednesday's game against Miami.
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76ers' De'Anthony Melton: Won't play Sunday
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Melton (back/injury recovery) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against Brooklyn, Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Melton is joined by Joel Embiid (knee/injury maintenance) as key absences for Philadelphia on Sunday. Despite being in a three-way tie for the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference, the 76ers appear on track to prioritize health to prepare for a potential Play-In Tournament showdown in the coming week.
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76ers' De'Anthony Melton: Gets questionable tag
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Melton is considered questionable for Sunday's regular-season finale due to a back injury.
Melton recently returned from a 21-game absence due to back issues, so it looks like the 76ers may err on the side of caution with him ahead of the playoffs. More light should be shed on the situation closer to tipoff.
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76ers' De'Anthony Melton: Gets 16 minutes in return
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Melton (back) tallied five points (2-9 FG, 1-5 3Pt), three rebounds, three assists and two steals across 16 minutes in Tuesday's 120-102 win over the Pistons.
After missing the 76ers' previous 21 games, Melton looked at risk of missing the rest of the regular season, given that the team had been relatively mum on his status since he was shut down in early March while he contended with lumbar spine bone stress. Melton was somewhat surprisingly upgraded to questionable ahead of Tuesday's contest and then ultimately cleared to play, with the 25-year-old proceeding to reclaim a role in head coach Nick Nurse's rotation. Though Melton's poor shooting resulted in a rather disappointing fantasy line, he brought some value on the defensive end. Melton is unlikely to see his role expand much further, as the 76ers should soon get back Tyrese Maxey (hip) and Kyle Lowry (knee), both of whom sat out Tuesday.
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76ers' De'Anthony Melton: Set to return Tuesday
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Melton (back) is available for Tuesday's game versus the Pistons, Adam Aaronson of PhillyVoice.com reports.
Melton will return to action Tuesday after missing Philadelphia's last 21 contests with a back injury. However, the 25-year-old guard will operate under a heavy minutes restriction, per Derek Bodner of AllPHLY.com.
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76ers' De'Anthony Melton: Questionable for Tuesday's game
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Melton (back) is questionable for Tuesday's game against the Pistons.
Although coach Nick Nurse said in late March that Melton wasn't close to returning, the guard will be in the mix to get back on the court for Tuesday's matchup. Even if Melton is cleared to return over the final week of the regular season, the 76ers will likely monitor his workload ahead of the playoffs.
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76ers' De'Anthony Melton: Not close to returning
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Coach Nick Nurse said Wednesday that Melton (back) isn't close to playing, but the team is hopeful he can return at some point this season, Adam Aaronson of PhillyVoice.com reports.
Melton hasn't played since Feb. 27 due to lumbar spine bone stress and remains without a clear return timetable. Nurse said there's a "very good" chance that Joel Embiid (knee) and Robert Covington (knee) return before the playoffs, but the coach's tone was less optimistic about Melton's future availability.
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76ers' De'Anthony Melton: Still without clear return date
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Head coach Nick Nurse said Monday that he had no update on the status of Melton, who hasn't played since Feb. 27 due to lumbar spine bone stress, Derek Bodner of AllPHLY.com reports.
Melton is scheduled to be re-evaluated in the coming days once his two-week off-loading period concludes, but his return doesn't appear to be imminent. Nurse mentioned within the past two days that the other two 76ers players dealing with long-term injuries -- Joel Embiid (knee) and Robert Covington (knee) -- have resumed non-contact on-court work, so both are seemingly closer to playing than Melton at this point. With the growing likelihood that his absence will stretch into April, Melton isn't worth holding in the majority of redraft leagues.
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76ers' De'Anthony Melton: Out at least two more weeks
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The 76ers announced Wednesday that Melton (back) has begun an offloading period and will be re-evaluated in approximately two weeks.
After a solid start to 2023-24, Melton has been plagued by injuries, especially back issues. He's appeared in just five of Philadelphia's last 29 games and is slated to miss at least a couple more. Given he's shutting things down for a bit, it'd be surprising to see Melton cleared for a full workload two weeks from now, as he'll probably need some time to regain his conditioning after returning to basketball activities. Buddy Hield and Kelly Oubre should continue to benefit from Melton's ongoing absence.
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76ers' De'Anthony Melton: Without return timetable
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Coach Nick Nurse said Melton (back) is out for Friday's game versus the Hornets and is unsure when he'll return, Ky Carlin of USA Today reports.
Melton left Tuesday's game versus Boston with back spasms after recently returning from a lengthy absence due to a lumbar spine stress response. He'll remain out through Philadelphia's upcoming two-game road trip, which ends Tuesday in Brooklyn, and he could miss even more time, per Ky Carlin of USA Today. Kelly Oubre and Cameron Payne are candidates to receive increased playing time in Melton's absence.
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76ers' De'Anthony Melton: Won't return Tuesday
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Melton has been ruled out for the remainder of Tuesday's game versus the Celtics due to back spasms, Lauren Rosen of the 76ers' official site reports. He'll finish with zero points (0-2 FG, 0-2 3Pt), one rebound, one assist and one block in nine minutes.
Melton was making just his third straight appearance after an 18-game absence due to a lumbar spine stress response, so it's less than ideal that his back is bothering him once again. The 76ers will likely evaluate him over the next two days before determining his status for Friday's game against the Hornets.
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76ers' De'Anthony Melton: Still on minute restriction
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Melton (back) will be limited to 15-25 minutes of action in Tuesday's game against Boston, Noah Levick of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.
Melton is joined by Kyle Lowry and Nicolas Batum on the same workload estimation, so Philadelphia's rotation is tough to evaluate at the moment. Melton looked sharp Sunday in his second game back from an extended absence, delivering 16 points in 18 minutes.
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76ers' De'Anthony Melton: Leads bench in scoring in loss
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Melton registered 16 points (5-12 FG, 4-8 3Pt, 2-2 FT), three rebounds, three assists and two steals in 18 minutes during Sunday's 119-98 loss to Milwaukee.
Melton led all 76ers bench players in scoring while connecting on a team-high mark from three and adding a pair of steals defensively to boost the Philadelphia second unit. Melton has scored 15 or more points in 12 contests this year, making four or more threes in eight appearances.
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76ers' De'Anthony Melton: Will come off bench again
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Melton (back) is available for Sunday's game against the Bucks, but he'll come off the bench, Austin Krell of USA Today reports.
Melton returned to action Friday following an 18-game absence due to a lumbar spine stress response, scoring seven points in 16 minutes off the bench during a win over the Cavaliers. It appears he'll be limited to around 20 minutes again Sunday, but he may eventually reclaim a starting spot over Buddy Hield or Kelly Oubre. Regardless, Melton's fantasy outlook is worse than it was before his injury, as Philadelphia has added Hield, Cameron Payne and Kyle Lowry to its backcourt rotation since Melton played last.
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76ers' De'Anthony Melton: Gets light bench role in return
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Melton (back) recorded seven points (2-6 FG, 1-4 3Pt, 2-2 FT), one rebound and one assist across 16 minutes Friday in the 76ers' 104-97 win over the Cavaliers.
Melton came off the bench and was on a playing-time restriction in his return from an 18-game absence due to a lumbar spine stress response, but the 25-year-old guard won't necessarily be in store for a major uptick in minutes even once he's free of limitations. The 76ers beefed up their guard depth at the trade deadline with the acquisitions of Buddy Hield and Cameron Payne, and the recent addition of Kyle Lowry -- who sat out Friday for conditioning purposes -- presents yet another threat that Melton will face for playing time. Melton could eventually unseat Hield or Kelly Oubre for a starting role on the wing, but his playing-time outlook moving forward is still unquestionably worse than it had been prior to him suffering the back injury in January.
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76ers' De'Anthony Melton: Cleared, but will be limited
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Melton (back) is available for Friday's game versus the Cavaliers, Noah Levick of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.
As expected, Melton has been upgraded from probable to available and will play for the first time since Jan. 12. However, he's expected to be limited to around 20 minutes, so fantasy managers can likely keep him out of lineups until he resumes his usual role.
