2018 Orlando Magic NBA Draft Preview: Who is De’Anthony Melton?
The Good
Defense, particularly help defense and off-the-ball activity, is De’Anthony Melton’s calling card. He is a quick-twitch lateral athlete with long limbs and eye-popping anticipation, allowing him to make calculated gambles and disrupt offenses without conceding too much of his primary assignment.
Marcus Smart is a popular comparison for him. Melton also is not afraid to mix it up down low, fight with big men for rebounds and scrap for loose balls. His frame and competitive nature make him hard to exploit in mismatch situations.
He is a terror in the open court and halfcourt, getting off the ground quickly and hanging in the air for chase-down blocks in transition. He uses his elite-level awareness and opportunistic nature to accumulate defensive plays in help defense situations.
His freshman year, he registered steals on 4.0 percent of opponent possessions and blocks on 3.9 percent of opponent 2-point shot attempts. Those are ridiculous numbers for a young guard.
Only five other freshmen guards have reached 3.5 percent in both categories. Of those, Melton was clearly the best offensive player, leading the group in true shooting percentage and offensive box plus-minus.
They are obviously very different players, but the intersection of IQ, motor and athleticism he brings might remind some Orlando Magic fans of Jonathan Isaac. It is not hard to imagine Jeff Weltman and John Hammond valuing De’Anthony Melton highly as well.
Generally speaking, the offensive end is where most of his room for improvement lies. But he is still a good player on that end.
Orlando Magic
Using Jacob Goldstein’s Player Impact Plus-Minus, he had a roughly equal positive impact on both sides of the ball. He is a smart player with good passing vision who can ignite the fastbreak with his rebounding and transition playmaking. He makes quick decisions and looks for the extra pass when he receives the ball on the perimeter.
The jump shot is the big question, but he has made encouraging strides during his time on the sidelines. That should not be a surprise given his work ethic and competitive mentality.
During the NBA Draft Combine, pickup play at the Drew League and in scattered workout videos, his shot has looked much better.
Take those flashes with a grain of salt. But he clearly recognized his shooting as a weakness early on and has since made visible improvements. At those events, his mechanics have looked more fluid. His elbow is in more than it was, his dribble-to-shot transition on pull-ups has been quick and smooth and he has also knocked down jumpers with varying momentum. All very encouraging and tangible developments.
He may never be a 40 percent 3-point shooter. But if those alterations are to be believed, he can encroach on 35 percent range. That is enough to force defenses to respect his shot. But even without that, his intelligence, athleticism and sheer force of will may be enough to make him an NBA player.