Sixers: What should the closing lineup be?

The Sixers‘ roster has undergone very few notable changes this summer. Andre Drummond will replace Dwight Howard as the backup center, while Georges Niang is primed to replace Mike Scott, but otherwise, very few transformative moves have been made by Daryl Morey and the front office.

A big caveat to that statement, of course, is Ben Simmons. The Sixers have been trying their best to trade the All-Star point guard all summer. While no offers have reached Morey’s high threshold so far, it’s fair to question whether Philadelphia can truly bring Simmons into the regular season. There’s a lot of smoldering ash where bridges used to be.

So, you can probably throw an asterisk over this article article — or at least a T.B.D., as the Sixers’ closing lineup now and on opening night could look drastically different than the closing lineup next postseason.

Even so, it’s worth investigating the Sixers’ ideal closing lineup, the calculus of which Doc Rivers never really figured out in 2020-21. We saw Simmons choke away games in the playoffs, and neither Danny Green nor Seth Curry were nightly locks in tight games. Rivers tried his darnedest to ride the hot hand, to varying degrees of success.

Here’s how the Sixers should look in the closing minutes of most games next season, assuming no Ben Simmons-involved trades occur between now and opening night.

Sixers’ closing lineup point guard: Tyrese Maxey

Far too often, we have seen the Sixers’ crunch-time offense stagnate and dissolve, unable to penetrate elite set defenses. That is in large part because the Sixers have, far too often, not had a reliable crunch-time ball-handler on the roster — a player who can beat defenders off the dribble, apply pressure on the rim, and consequently open up scoring avenues for his teammates.

That is what Tyrese Maxey can provide for the Sixers. He is due to a breakout sophomore season, with a couple strong playoff games under his belt and a year under Doc Rivers’ tutelage. Maxey rode the pine a lot last season, but his tremendous growth defensively, combined with the general utility of his specific skill set, make it hard to imagine Rivers will treat him similarly in 2021-22.

Maxey’s elite first step and ability to pressure the rim alleviates a lot of congestion for the Sixers’ halfcourt offense. If his pull-up 3s start to fall regularly, then defenses will have an even harder time keeping him out of the middle of the floor. Those attributes are unique to Maxey on the Sixers’ roster. That’s partly a sign of poor roster-building, but it’s also an endorsement of Maxey’s future with the team. He fills a critical role.

The Sixers’ offense was at its best in the second round when Maxey was rolling. He’s already a proven microwave scorer, and his amateur resumé comes loaded with big clutch-time shots. Philadelphia needs a real twitchy point guard on the floor closing games. Maxey is it.