PHILADELPHIA — The growth of Tyrese Maxey in the 2023-24 season goes beyond what he can do as the second option behind Joel Embiid. The Philadelphia 76ers have needed him to be the main option for stretches of the season due to some injuries to Embiid. The results have been shaky, for him and the team. But their most recent game without the big man was a rousing success.
In the 76ers' near-wire-to-wire victory over the Sacramento Kings, the main story was the spectacular performance from Tobias Harris, who came just short of his career-high with 37 points. But Maxey did a very nice job orchestrating the offense without Embiid, even if he didn’t shoot very well from the field.
“I think we're kind of getting used to it,” Maxey said of operating as the lead initiator of offense. “A lot of times when big fella doesn't play or during the rotations where he's out the game, that's what defenses have kind of gone to — the blitz, the face-guard, different things like that. So, it's just me kind of getting used to it. It's my first time really seeing it, especially at the NBA level. I think guys like Paul Reed, guys like Mo Bamba did a really good job of catching it off the blitz and getting downhill and making plays for others out there.”
The 76ers rely heavily on Maxey to create offense when Embiid sits. Nick Nurse compared the situation to a young, budding star on a bad team that gets a ton of reps, even if the team struggles. That aptly describes the Embiid-less Sixers, who are 3-7 this season.
But in this game against the Kings, Maxey helped Philly score with regularity while also making some big defensive contributions. Nick Nurse liked what he saw from the star guard and the guys around him, who saw just about each and every window of opportunity he created.
“I think he handled it awesome,” the 76ers head coach said. “I think we literally got it to where it needed to go. We had a variety of things. We got it to the guy that was coming right off the blitz. We advanced past it and moved it around. I think we got a bunch of open threes out of it and a few other back-cut layups out of it too. And that's what you're trying to do. You're trying to either get a catch and shoot a wide-open three or a rim attempt. I thought our guys, they were very well organized and they stayed in the play to make people available. You got two on, you gotta find the next pass and then you should be playing four-on-three from the back of that.”
The Kings never ceased their aggression on Maxey but he returned the favor with smart passes and dazzling buckets when he gots his chances. When Maxey was doubled going right from the top of the key, he swung a quick pass back to a wide-open Bamba, who finished off the play with a bucket.
When the Kings doubled Maxey without having to worry about a big man who can shoot, Reed found open space at the nail and took the four-on-three advantage by drawing the low man to him and feeding Nico Batum on a back-door cut. Later, De’Anthony Melton was the screener/roller and used his feed from Maxey to spark ball movement that led to a Reed dunk.
Maxey's biggest highlight of the night — an acrobatic layup where the contortion of his body resembled a flopping fish — came off of a second screen from Reed as the defender, Keon Ellis, tried to keep Maxey going left and near the sideline. But Maxey found room away from the impending trap and finished through a strong contest.
Maxey recorded just 21 points on 6-17 shooting from the field but shot 6-6 from the foul line and also tallied four assists, three rebounds, three steals and two blocks. The scoring abilities he possesses require so much attention from the defense that he was partially responsible for even more points based on how his teammates were able to attack with a numbers advantage so frequently.
The 76ers surely wish they didn’t have to play so many games without Embiid. It's likely that the big man returns soon. But when that situation arises, Maxey and Nurse believe the team can keep going.
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