Melton’s Return Helps Spark Warriors Over Thunder, Shows His Importance to the Team

The Warriors, as always, continue to run through Stephen Curry. The sharpshooter is back to playing at an MVP level, stretching the court, finding the open man, and doing all of the little things that make his team better. Even so, this year’s Warriors aren’t a one man show.

(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

The early chunk of the NBA season has shown that Golden State operates by committee, getting support from everyone on their team and fielding one of the deepest benches in the league. Every player contributes to their wins, which is why getting De’Anthony Melton back from injury has been such a big boost.

The guard missed five games due to a back strain, which he’ll continue to monitor in the coming weeks. Though the Warriors won most of the games Melton sat out, his absence did put more pressure on the bench, and his return shows just how important he can be.

A Pivotal Piece of the Puzzle

On Friday, when facing the Cavaliers, Melton did not contribute too much in what was a pretty one-sided affair. He played 18 minutes, putting together 10 points, two rebounds, and three assists in the process.

That wasn’t terribly impressive for his first game back, especially since the Cavaliers blew out the Warriors during the contest. However, Kerr did seem to take it slow with Melton and worked him back into the rotation rather than throwing him to the wolves all at once.

Even so, the spry guard said it felt “amazing” to be back on the court and he’s looking forward to getting a bigger role. It’s just about knowing when to walk, and when to run.

“Aggravation and they wanted to be cautious about it,” he explained when talking about his injury.

“They just want to make sure I’m staying strong right now. Staying solid in terms of everything. Not worrying about necessarily being out there all the time, but the long haul.”

That last point is especially important because Golden State undoubtedly hopes Melton will be a key piece in what has become quite the successful team. Pushing him too hard, too fast could lead to more injuries, which in turn could be a problem as the season progresses.

Bringing (Down) the Thunder

Melton’s first game was not a terribly impressive performance, but he seemed to get back into rhythm during the Warriors commanding win over the Thunder.

• He strung together 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 assists during 27 minutes of play.

Those numbers made him the third highest scorer and highest rebounder on the night. That sustained style of production, combined with beating one of the top teams in the Western Conference, reinforced that the Warriors need Melton to be healthy.

1. Being able to further stretch the floor for Curry, as well as garner key second-chance opportunities in big games, is exactly why the Warriors wanted him in the first place.
2. He didn’t just score against the Thunder, his constant hustle play kept them on the back foot and allowed Golden State to keep their early lead when the game became close in the fourth quarter.

Being able to dig in is critical, and that’s why the Warriors came away with a win.

Moving to Take it Slow

The Warriors are now one of the top seeds in the West, and have beaten the Celtics and Thunder in two of their three last games. That high level play will only get better with a healthy Melton. That is, as long as he can stay on the court.

The outside shooter seems to have rebounded from his injury quite well, but it’s worth noting that he also experienced back pain last season while playing for the Sixers. The injury took him out for 40 of the last 45 games of the season.

Golden State knew that risk when signing him during the offseason, and they plan to be as safe as they can be. Back issues are one of the easiest ailments to re-aggravate, especially in a fast-paced game like basketball. It’s always better safe than sorry.

“I’ve got a lot of trust in what they do,” Melton said of the training staff, “And they’ve gotten me this far, so I’m in it.”

There’s no telling how much Melton will play in the coming weeks, or if the Warriors plan to scale him back depending on the matchup, but the Thunder game shows that as long as he’s in the lineup the team has a chance to win. That’s what’s important.

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