PHILADELPHIA — Tyrese Maxey has taken on the challenge of being a lead creator for the Philadelphia 76ers as Joel Embiid and James Harden continue to sit out the preseason. In two preseason games against the Boston Celtics, he hasn’t shied away from leading the offense and balancing his playmaking and scoring. Still, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse is asking him to give a little more.
Nurse said that he wants Maxey to take 20 shots per game. He noted that the Celtics made “a concentrated effort tonight to limit his touches” but that the Sixers lacked aggressiveness at the rim. Nurse said that he called a few timeouts to get Maxey to attack the basket more when Boston switched Kristaps Porzingis onto him.
Realizing when the defense is giving him opportunities will continue to be a work in progress with Maxey, though he is showing growth when it comes to weaponizing his own gravity. The Sixers are all the way in his corner doing what they can to empower him. The encouragement from coaches and teammates alike fuels Maxey's desire to shine.
“When a coach has confidence in you, and then your teammates have confidence in you to be yourself, then it's a good feeling,” Maxey said. “It takes the pressure off of you. I mean, you just go out there and be extremely aggressive and get to the hole. With that comes great responsibility, as well — getting into the paint, trying to find guys, trying to find guys like Kelly [Oubre Jr.], trying to find guys like [De'Anthony Melton], trying to find your shooters who go out there on the defensive end and do all the little things and get all the loose balls and have to guard the best players. So, you still gotta try to find them to keep them into the game because it's hard game and they're doing the dirty work.”
Oubre compared Maxey to Speedy Gonzales with the way he opens up the floor with his speed. He knows that running alongside him in transition and making himself available will help facilitate his development into the creator the Sixers need him to be. Maxey said having teammates like that is very beneficial.
“I'm just really happy to be with such a light-hearted individual who just has fun — and that's what I need,” Oubre said of Maxey. “I need that in my life, Lord knows, just to have fun playing basketball and I see that happening here.”
While Nurse acknowledged that Maxey could have gotten to the 20-shot threshold with a few more minutes against Boston — Maxey ended his 28 minutes with 17 shots — the expectations are mounting for the 22-year-old to continue improving as a creator. He has the tools to be aggressive: some of the best foot speed of any current basketball player, feathery shooting touch and the dexterity to hit layups from various angles. His mindset to apply those skills is working its way up to the level that Philly needs.
Last season, Joel Embiid said he challenged Maxey to shoot around a dozen triples per game. As one of the most efficient shooters in the game, it was an understandable request. Maxey never got there but it was clear what the underlying ask was: take control. In what is setting up to be the biggest season of his career, the time has never been better for him to seize the moment and take the leap to the next level.
Above all, Maxey is a team player — someone who wants the Sixers to win more than anything and is willing to take steps backward and forward to make it happen. The message has never been clearer that he has to take matters into his own hands more for the good of the team.