Sixers: Tyrese Maxey deserves real audition before playoffs

The Philadelphia 76ers have lost three straight due to an ill-timed rash of injuries and, in the case of Thursday night’s loss to Milwaukee, some very tired legs. Given the condensed back half of the NBA’s schedule, a string of losses was basically inevitable. That said, the Sixers have unearthed some positives from this brutal stretch. Chief among them, Tyrese Maxey.

After a brief flurry to start the season, Tyrese Maxey was relegated to an end-of-bench, clean-up-duty role typical of most rookies on championship-contending teams. Shake Milton and Furkan Korkmaz were more established in the backcourt rotation, and Maxey’s shortcomings made his fit a complex issue.

Over the past four games, however, Maxey has reemerged in the rotation. He’s averaging 11.0 points and 2.8 assists on 47.4 percent shooting during that span, playing 20.7 minutes per night. Most notable, in my opinion, is his 30 percent success rate from 3-point range on 2.5 attempts — the attempts more notable than the percentage.

The Sixers may have reason to give Tyrese Maxey another whirl in the regular rotation.

Doc Rivers’ apprehension with Maxey this season has been understandable. After his 39-point peak in Denver early in the season, he frankly wasn’t very good. He lacked confidence from 3-point range, his defense was objectionable, and he struggled to generate contact — and by extension free throws — on his many drives to the rim.

While Maxey is undoubtedly a little rough around the edges, he has shown marked improvement in almost every area over the last four games. He could stand to draw more fouls, but Maxey has looked genuinely comfortable chucking up his share of spot-up and pull-up 3s. If he is going to maximize his fit next to Joel Embiid, then he will have to feign competence from deep. He has more than feigned it of late.

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Also of note is Maxey’s defense, which has been surprisingly strong this past week. He’s still a bit undersized at 6-foot-2, but Maxey’s competitive spirit has long been a strength of his. Now it is combined with a greater awareness within the team context.

When you combine a real 3-point threat with competent defense, there’s not much keeping Maxey off the floor. His speed was always a big selling point, and a skill the Sixers have lacked next to Embiid in the halfcourt his entire career. Maxey can skate to the rim and compromise a defense like no other guard on the Sixers’ roster. Defenses can’t stay in front of him. As his playmaking chops continue to grow, and his 3-point threat continues to crystalize, Maxey’s explosiveness will become an invaluable tool in the Sixers’ halfcourt offense.

To that point, it may be time for Doc Rivers to consider a full-time role for Maxey — even when the entire rotation is healthy. Injuries to Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris, and Seth Curry have opened the window for Maxey recently, but sooner than later, everyone (knock on wood) will be back on the floor. When that time comes, it will be interesting to see who sticks in Rivers’ 10-man group.

The pessimistic prediction — or perhaps the realist’s take — is that Maxey will move back to garbage-time minutes once Ben is back in the rotation. Even with Tobias Harris back in the starting five, Mike Scott edged Maxey by a couple minutes in the Bucks game. The more optimistic prediction — or what one might call a pipe dream — is Maxey removing Scott from the rotation.

If one were to mine for sources of optimism, Rivers’ commitment to “four-guard” lineups is a good place to start. The Sixers have the personnel to successfully run four perimeter players around Joel Embiid or Dwight Howard at any given time. With Tobias Harris and Ben Simmons as frontcourt glue to hold the group together, there’s really no need for Scott minutes.

Maxey can easily find a niche — and a very useful niche — alongside George Hill, Shake Milton, and Seth Curry. There’s plenty of basketball and plenty of minutes to go around. The Sixers have already seen ample success with four-out groups since Hill’s debut, the recent three-game skid notwithstanding. Maxey contributes in considerably more interesting and game-changing ways than Scott.

In all likelihood, Maxey’s big breakthrough will come next season, when he has another summer of work and another training camp to earn his stripes under Doc Rivers. That said, the Sixers should — but probably won’t — give the rookie a real audition ahead of the 2021 playoffs.

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