De’Anthony Melton’s role for the Warriors could grow without Steph Curry, Butler
MEMPHIS – De’Anthony Melton rushed hard after catching Draymond Green’s pass on the wing and sent Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray flying early in the fourth quarter of Tuesday night’s game against the Warriors.
New Orleans center Karlo Matkovic tried to meet him at the rim, but it was a minor setback as Melton blasted the rim with a powerful right-handed poster dunk reminiscent of his high-flying days a few years ago with the Memphis Grizzlies.
It was only his second slam of the season, and the most impressive of the pair.
“It felt good, and there was a lot of frustration in that dunk, because there was a lot of chirping going on there,” Melton said.
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The 27-year-old guard looked like the best player for the Warriors…. but he found himself stuck on the bench the next night in Memphis.
It wasn’t his fault, but it was a product of the team’s reasonable caution when it came to his playing time.
Melton missed the second half of the 2023-24 season with a back injury, then all six games of the 2024-25 campaign with an ACL tear.
Since he returned to the court in December, the Warriors have been careful not to play him for about 25 minutes per game. In addition, he has not played both divisions of consecutive games.
That may soon change.
“We’re going into the season and you’re feeling good,” Kerr said. “It is something I will discuss with Rick (Celebrini) at the end of this week.”
It’s a change Melton will welcome, whenever it comes.
“Absolutely, and there have been discussions about this (back-to-back),” Melton said. “I definitely can’t wait to get out there and have my guys on both sides.”
The Warriors have five more returning starters this season, and are in dire need of an offensive punch with Steph Curry sidelined with runner’s knee.
In limited minutes, Melton has consistently provided a scoring touch on the ball that no other Warrior has been able to consistently create, and seemingly ready to do it to the fullest.
He’s scored in double figures in 21 of 31 games, and is averaging 21 points per game in just 25 minutes a night over his last four games.
Despite standing 6-foot-2 and coming off an ACL tear, he’s shooting a healthy 63% at the rim and showed Tuesday that he still has some bounce left in that surgically repaired knee.
Speaking of taking it to the bowl, Melton is also third on the team in drives per game (7.9), just behind Jimmy Butler and Curry despite playing about 10 fewer minutes per game than those two injured stars.
The 3-point shot has not changed at 29%, but he has improved somewhat since the start of the new year (33%) and is a career 36.1% shooter, indicating that his percentage should increase with more time and repetition.
As long as the Warriors’ medical staff gives him the green light, a half-time Melton could be a boon for a team struggling to get out of the playoffs.
If the last few games have shown anything, it’s that Melton is ready for more.
