The regular season is officially over, but the Philadelphia 76ers still have some basketball left to play. They will take on the Orlando Magic in the Play-In Tournament on Wednesday night, and if they win, they will take on the No. 2 seed Boston Celtics in the playoffs.
It was ugly at times, but the 76ers' season remains alive, and this can be a great opportunity for them to go head-to-head against one of the best teams in the NBA (who many predict will be finals-bound) and prove they can make some noise.
Assuming Philadelphia does advance to the first round of the playoffs, it will be difficult for the team to make something happen without Joel Embiid, who is currently sidelined after undergoing surgery for appendicitis. However, this is still a chance for some of their other stars to step up and make an impact, and that especially includes Tyrese Maxey, who is still looking to prove that he can be a No. 1 option on a contending team.
These playoffs could make Tyrese Maxey's legacy
There is no doubt about Maxey's talents and career arc. He has gotten better every single year since the 76ers drafted him 21st overall in 2020, and at just 25 years old, he's not done improving yet.
This past season, the Kentucky alum averaged career-highs in PPG (28.3), RPG (4.1), APG (6.9), SPG (1.9), and MPG (38, which also led the NBA). Additionally, he was named to the second All-Star team of his career.
However, while Maxey put together a fantastic season, there are still some concerns about his ability to truly be the top guy on a winning team. But with a stellar playoff run, he can turn some of that narrative around.
In a recent episode of "The Bill Simmons Podcast," Simmons pointed out how he feels like Maxey could rise to the occasion and put together some fantastic performances in a potential playoff series against the Celtics or Detroit Pistons.
"If they're in a 2-7 matchup against the Celtics, I think he would go toe-to-toe with the Celtics for two weeks, and all the Celtic fans would be terrified of him and relieved to get rid of him by the end of the series. If he goes against Detroit, same thing," Simmons said about Maxey. "I actually think he has another gear in him. He's great at home. The fans really believe in him. He's a guy that could just go for 36 a game in the playoffs or some crazy thing. I could see it," Simmons said.
It remains to be seen how Maxey and the 76ers do just in the Play-In Tournament, so it's still too soon to put them in the playoff conversations. However, there is still a great oppotunity here for Maxey to further his game and legacy that he has to take advantage of.
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