For those in the Tyrese Maxey is a future All-Star camp, they just were validated again in the overtime victory against the Memphis Grizzlies. The Philadelphia 76ers were without MVP front runner Joel Embiid in the game due to a planned rest game. However, despite missing him and several over players like Shake Milton and Ben Simmons, the Sixers came out of the game with a win.
The biggest reason why was of course the performance of Philly’s second year point guard in Maxey. Maxey ended the game with 33 points, three rebounds, eight assists, one steal, four blocks, and three turnovers. He also shot a high percentage from the floor converting 13-23 field goals, 1-4 3-pointers, and 6-7 free throws.
He was on par with Ja Morant of the Grizzlies who is making his first All-Star game and is arguably in the MVP discussion. It should be noted Morant had 38 points, five assists, and nine turnovers. All this to say that 76ers head coach Doc Rivers has to be able to get Maxey to play near or at this level when Embiid is in the lineup.
Sixers’ coaching staff needs to Maximize Maxey.
This isn’t the first time I’ve called out Rivers for not utilizing Maxey’s potential when Embiid is healthy and it probably won’t be the last time either. That being written, even Rivers had this to say about Maxey after the overtime win.
Doc Rivers on whether he saw these sort of games coming for Maxey looking at things last offseason: “I don’t know. I know one thing: Tyrese, downhill, against anybody”
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) February 1, 2022
Maxey is elite when attacking the basket. This season, He’s shot 64.5 percent on shots within three feet of the rim this year. Considering his volume, the fact that he’s usually shooting over big men and he has a defender on his hip most of the time, that is a good percentage.
However, what’s more, impressive is that he’s converting 40.1 percent of his 3-pointers on 3.5 attempts this year. After not having much of an outside shot in college (29.2 percent), Maxey has turned himself into an efficient 3-point shooter.
Let’s not forget about his growth as a playmaker as well, which I’ve recently written about too. His development as a playmaker this season is an undersold part of his development this year and will be important to the Sixers moving forward.
Rivers and the rest of the coaching staff have to find a way to make sure Maxey gets nearly as many shots with Embiid on the court as when he’s not available. If they can do that, then this team can be dangerous moving forward.
Maxey can become something special, but it’s up to Rivers and the rest of the Sixers’ coaching to get the best out of him moving forward. Focusing on Maxey’s development should be a top priority for the rest of this season.