The Sixers cruised to victory in Brooklyn on Monday night, 127-108. Both teams limited the starters to one half — a half that was largely controlled by Philadelphia until the Nets mounted a late second-quarter surge led by Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
A lot of eyes were on this game because of Brooklyn’s third star, however: Ben Simmons made his NBA return against his former team of all teams. He did a lot of typical Ben Simmons things (good and bad) before bowing out at halftime.
For Philadelphia, let’s dive into the positive and negative takeaways from Monday’s preseason opener.
Positive from Sixers’ win over Nets: Maxey’s stardom
Tyrese Maxey‘s performance was positively sublime. With Joel Embiid and James Harden on the bench, primary creation duties fell to the 21-year-old. He looked completely comfortable, scoring the team’s first eight points and having his way with Brooklyn’s defense the entire first half.
Maxey scored 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting (2-of-4 from deep, 6-of-6 from the free throw line) and dished out three assists in 14 minutes of action. It’s hard to complain. Maxey made several nice passing reads (the next step in his development) and frequented the free throw line, another positive indicator for his growth.
It’s unwise to read too far into a single preseason game, but if Maxey can take another substantial leap next season the Sixers will be in a good place. His blend of speed, skill, and work ethic is entirely unique. There’s no one like Maxey in the NBA right now.