76ers: 3 Things Tyrese Maxey has to improve on for the 2024-25 season

Maxey needs to become an assured leader when Embiid is not available

With Maxey and Embiid healthy, Philadelphia was one of the best teams in the East. They were good enough to be chasing the second-best record in the Conference behind the big-5 of the Boston Celtics. However, the former Kentucky stud saw his numbers dipped between January and March. It was the time that the season took an unfortunate turn for the team as the 76ers started to lose a lot afte losing Embiid to injury. Maxey went through a rough time. His shooting numbers from the field dropped, while his assist production lingered to 5.6 in the post-All-Star period.

Defenses forced Maxey to take tough shots and the guard had less room to operate. He immediately became an easy target and the Sixers offense was unable to score with ease. More importantly, his production in the clutch dropped as Embiid's gravitational presence was not there to help him find spaces and angles in the offense. He was improving steadily as the season progressed, as he was a minus-5.2 in the fourth quarters during February and gradually improved to a plus-3.3 in April.

Embiid was exhausted late in games this season. His conditioning was lacking and if the franchise wants to succeed next season then Maxey should be ready to take control of the game. The young guard should assure the fans that Philly could be a great team even when Embiid is unable to help.