The first game Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey played together since January ended in a massive victory for the Philadelphia 76ers. Their stars came up clutch and beat the Miami Heat, keeping their chances at avoiding the play-in going stronger.
Maxey dominated to the tune of 37 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds while Embiid recorded 29 points, four rebounds and three assists. Both played stout defense and prevented the Heat from winning the season series.
Embiid and Maxey had a spectacular two-man game going to start the season, each feeding off the talent of the other to melt defenses. When Embiid went down with a meniscus injury and missed two months, Maxey was thrust into the spotlight as the main option. Nick Nurse is surely looking to get them back to where they were. He admitted that he sees a lot of work required to get them there.
“It was okay. I think I kept saying to myself, ‘Go a little more two-man action.’ I thought there wasn't a ton,” Nurse said to reporters. “There was a couple of kick-backs, pick-and-pop three, a couple here and there. But usually, there's an action and then Tyrese will chase it again. I didn't think he was doing some of that yet.”
Embiid still not having his legs fully under him will obviously lead to some shortcomings for the Sixers on both sides of the ball. He still has to learn how to play with Kyle Lowry, Buddy Hield and Cam Payne. Even with a guy like Maxey, with whom he has plenty of chemistry, there's a readjustment period. Nurse will be looking to get Embiid and Maxey back to doing the “chase” action — where Maxey passes the ball to Embiid and immediately turns it into a dribble handoff — to unlock more possibilities in the offense.
Additionally, Nurse suggested that the team has to tighten up and that the coaching staff can help with that.
“Listen, I'm super happy we won the game but we're disorganized right now. Like, we're not executing stuff very well,” he continued. “I thought all three quarters were like 8-0 runs by them. We just didn't finish the quarters. I thought we as a coaching staff need to do a better job of who's starting the second and fourth [quarters] again. I know it's difficult 'cause guys are in and out all the time but I thought we needed better. Those lineups just didn't seem to have the right feel.”
Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey lead 76ers past Heat in first game back together
Embiid said that he felt “a little bit better” in his second game back from his injury return. With Maxey sidelined, he led the Sixers to a win over the shorthanded Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday. On top of taking pride in his defense, Embiid said that his goal is to draw defensive attention to get his teammates good shots. With Maxey back, it’s much, much easier.
“Like I said last game, I'm just here to get all these guys open,” Embiid said to reporters. “He was pretty open today, so I'm happy that he took care of his own business. He made shots, he made them pay for the way they were guarding.”
Maxey assisted Embiid four times against the Heat and the inverse happened twice. The big man set screens at the top of the key that helped free the speedy guard up for pull-up jumpers and drives.
“I mean, we did pretty good tonight. It can be better for sure but, yeah, I think we were good,” Maxey said. “I think we knew what we had to run. It's funny, gotta get some of the new guys acclimated to the cutting and the spacing in certain situations. But I think it was good.”
The fact that the 76ers simply have both stars healthy now is great news. They will hope that Tobias Harris can recover from his current left knee injury as quickly as possible as they continue their final road trip of the regular season.
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