Behind a lethal triumvirate, the Philadelphia 76ers will enter the 2024-25 campaign as one of the early favorites to completely obliterate their finish from last season. With their uber-talented and stacked roster, there’s absolutely zero reason for the club not to get out of the first-round this time around. In fact, they have the potential to go all the way and win the championship.
Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Paul George will unquestionably be one of, if not the highest-scoring trio in the NBA next season. Last season, Embiid was the league’s leading scorer as he tallied 34.7 markers per outing while Maxey emerged as the Most Improved Player. George, meanwhile, logged career-best marks in all shooting categories.
Having said that, is there a room for the 76ers to alter their projected pecking order offensively?
Why the 76ers could be better off having Tyrese Maxey as their main option next season
As things stand, Embiid is the easy — and objectively correct — answer in who should get the biggest piece of the pie on the scoring department. However, there’s reason to believe that Philadelphia would be better off letting Maxey get an even bigger share.
Moving forward, preserving Embiid will be a critical determinant of how far they want to go in the playoffs. He’s not getting any younger, and while he’s still at the peak of his powers, he is one of the most injury-prone superstars in the NBA.
Lessening his load not only minutes-wise, but also by systemic design, would be another way to keep him fresh without constantly load managing him en route to missed games. While he should still be the primary resort, solely going to him to ignite the offense should be a more limited venture from here on out.
Maxey, with George now opening things up even more, should be given more exposure as an independent ignition valve on offense. That way, Embiid can streamline his role, limit his on-court load, and keep him fresh not only for the playoffs, but for clutch situations that sometimes bleed into rubber periods.
Nick Nurse is inventive enough to still maximize Embiid’s shot-creation brilliance, but thinking long-term, pinning Maxey as a designated scorer in bunches even when the 2023 MVP is on the floor would be a savvy way of developing the young star while letting Embiid play to his strengths.