Heading into this season, many expected Tyrese Maxey to take on a larger role in his sophomore season. These expectations grew even more as the Ben Simmons saga raged on throughout the offseason. With the former number one pick still on the sidelines, it has fallen on Maxey to fill the void.
In light of Simmons' absence, Maxey has become the new starting point guard of the Philadelphia 76ers. This has been a key storyline to start the regular season as Doc Rivers and his staff continue to mold him into a floor general.
While Maxey continues to show nice flashes as a facilitator, other areas of his game that have stood out as well. Most notably, on the defensive end of the floor, where he has held his own with some high-level matchups in the Sixers' recent string of games.
In today's game, there are a plethora of elite point guards. Tyrese Maxey learned this the hard way as he had to match up with Atlanta's Trae Young and Portland's Damian Lillard in back-to-back games. Neither of these players are tough covers, but the former first-round pick did more than hold his own against them.
Young scored just eight points when being defended by Maxey on Saturday, shooting 3/9 from the field and 1/3 from beyond the arc. Lillard had similar struggles when matched up with the former first-round pick. He to scored eight points on 3/8 shooting with Maxey defending him.
One person who has been impressed with Maxey's work on the defensive end is head coach Doc Rivers. He gave the young guard high praise following the Sixers' win over the Trail Blazers on Monday.
“He's held up. It's tough. Every night at that position, you have to guard somebody. We're not shying away from him. We're just putting him on guys, overall I think he's doing a sensational job. He's pressuring the ball and gets over picks so much better than he did last year,” said Rivers.
Since arriving in Philadelphia, Maxey has always focused on doing what is best for the team in a given moment. Understanding that hard-nosed defense has to come from somewhere with Simmons out, he has fearless taken on some tough matchups and shown he can hang with almost any guard in the league.
Tyrese Maxey has based his life on “getting 1% better each and every day”, and in year two, he has improved on both ends of the floor. Spending time watching Matisse Thybulle's defensive film looks to be paying off for him this season.
The Sixers should be more than pleased with what they've seen from Maxey to start this season. Even with the expected growing pains, he continues to be productive in all areas on a nightly basis.
With the return on Ben Simmons still unclear, Tyrese Maxey will find himself in the starting lineup for the foreseeable future. Between how well he's played and his growing comfort in a new role, Rivers and the Sixers should feel good about him as the point guard of this team moving forward.
Follow Us
Subscribe