Sixers: Can Tyrese Maxey and Shake Milton become a special duo?
Do the Philadelphia 76ers have something special in Tyrese Maxey and Shake Milton?
The Philadelphia 76ers are preparing to play their second preseason game and it’s against the Indiana Pacers. Yet, if the team’s first preseason matchup against the Boston Celtics has taught fans anything, it’s to get excited young guards Shake Milton and Tyrese Maxey.
Both have been getting positive reviews in training camp and both played well against the Celtics. Milton finished the game with 19 points in 23 minutes and Maxey had eight points in 12 minutes. both shot above 50.0 percent from the floor in the game as well.
Despite it “just” being the preseason, fans should be legitimately excited about the future of these two guards.
What Maxey and Milton could become for the Sixers.
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To cut straight to the point, these two players could be the team’s starting backcourt of the future for the Sixers. Unless a trade for James Harden occurs, there’s no reason not for these young players not to become the team’s starting point and shooting guards in the near future.
That doesn’t mean that Ben Simmons’ won’t still be the defacto playmaker. He’s still clearly the best passer on the team by a mile, but he might not be labeled as a point guard whenever head coach Doc Rivers decides that these young players are ready for a starting job.
Based on Rivers’ comments in the past about how he likes Maxey with the ball in his hands, according to Paul Hudrick of 973 ESPN, the rookie would probably be the de facto point guard and Milton would be more of a shooting guard. Milton can play on and off the ball so being a shooting guard makes more sense for him.
Milton broke out the second half of last year and appears to continue that trend. Rivers has spoken about how Maxey appears to be NBA ready, per Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Milton hasn’t appeared to reach his ceiling as a player yet at the age of 24. Maxey has so much upside only being a 20-year-old rookie.
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Both Maxey and Milton have a lot of room to grow and can end up very good players down the road, maybe even have an All-Star appearance or two. Regardless, the Philadelphia 76ers have a pretty bright future moving forward.