The Philadelphia 76ers are experiencing the NBA’s longest active winning streak being winners of their last eight games. It’s great to go into the postseason on a high note, but there’s another headline entering the playoffs and that is the resurgence of Tyrese Maxey.
The rookie point guard started off the season hot, making a legit case for being on an All-Rookie team. That case included a 39-point game against the Denver Nuggets. However, as the Sixers began to get healthy and teams started to defend Maxey for the drive, his play began to taper off.
For a good part of the season, Maxey was on the fringe of the rotation and failed to make an impact. That being written, for the last couple of weeks Maxey has taken major strides in his game and his play should make the 76ers consider just how much they need to invest in his future.
Maxey’s potential should be impacting the Philadelphia 76ers’ front office decisions.
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For the past 10 games, Maxey has averaged 10.6 points, 2.6 assists, and 0.6 turnovers. He’s averaging these stats while shooting 50.6 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from the 3-point line. These are all improvements from his season averages. On the year, he’s been averaging 7.6 points, 1.8 assists, and 0.7 turnovers, while converting 46.1 percent of his field goals and 29.5 percent on 3-pointers.
Those last 10 games were pretty impressive, but he’s capped off this run with a start against the Detroit Pistons. He impressed with Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris in that game. Maxey finished with 22 points, four assists, one block, and two steals, while making 7-11 shots, 2-3 from downtown shots, and 6-7 from the foul line.
Maxey’s play has gotten the attention of Philly’s MVP candidate.
Embiid with lots of praise for rookie Tyrese Maxey tonight: “I feel like he should be playing…he’s a hard worker, and it’s showing up. You see what he did tonight, he has potential but sometimes you just got to wait for your chance, your turn.”
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) May 9, 2021
High praise from Embiid to be sure. Doc Rivers also indicated that he’s willing to play 11 players in a playoff rotation, according to Noah Levick of NBCSPhilly. That seems to indicate his willingness to rely on a rookie point guard in a playoff situation. Certainly, that should impact how the Sixers’ front office should approach the offseason.
There have been rumors that the Sixers are interested in getting Kyle Lowry from the Toronto Raptors in a sign-and-trade. However, if Maxey continues to show the flashes of potential in the regular and postseason, the 76ers’ may not be willing to give up too much to get the veteran point guard, especially if it would cost Maxey to get the 35-year-old point guard.
Maxey’s impressive play as of late should be influencing the Philadelphia 76ers’ front office decisions when it comes to offseason moves.