Going into the matchup against the Chicago Bulls, the Philadelphia 76ers are in pole position in the standings out East with six wins and just one loss through their first seven games. All of their wins have come against quality competition, with each dub coming through thanks to their superb ability to come back and finish games in crunch time after finding themselves in early holes. While a win is a win, it appears that Tyrese Maxey himself wants that formula to end as soon as possible.
Right after their most recent win over the Hornets, which also came down to a tight finish, Maxey was asked about his thoughts following another comeback dub for the 76ers. He immediately went on to say that he does not want to do that (referring to the team having to rally from big deficits) and that he is tired of it.
Well, the 76ers definitely need to stop having to do that as soon as possible.
Tyrese Maxey perfectly encapsulates what the 76ers should stop doing
Philadelphia has not had a forgiving slate of games so far, which probably warrants some slack on their part. That being said, their tough schedule will not get easier anytime soon, so as Maxey hinted at, the team has to stop being way too comfortable and start climbing out of holes in order to carve out wins.
Starting strong has to be a major point of emphasis for the 76ers. Right now, they have the third-worst net rating among all teams in first quarters. They are having a tough time getting into their rhythm fast, and while they have the second-best net rating in the final frame, needing to stage comebacks almost on a nightly basis will eventually burn them out.
Philly is not exactly a young squad. While they have youngsters like VJ Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxey on their starting unit, the 76ers cannot expend their energy being on the trailing end. Doing so will only negatively affect the conditioning of their older players, especially given the mileage they are currently having.
Being a consistently good unit for 48 minutes is what separates great teams from title contenders. So far, despite their top record, the 76ers have not achieved that just yet. It is too early in the season to be too grim about their chances at the championship following this stream of thought, but they cannot make this their M.O. moving forward.
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