PHILADELPHIA — When the NBA All-Star reserves were announced Thursday, Tyrese Maxey’s name wasn’t among them.
The view from those outside Philadelphia might not have been perplexed, given the 76ers’ 11th-place standing in a mostly mediocre Eastern Conference. Those who’ve seen Maxey score 28 or more points in 12 straight games through Wednesday, shouldering the load of an injury-ravaged roster, may beg to differ.
It has been a year of adjustment for the 24-year-old, but he seems nowhere near the limit of his ability to adapt to whatever is thrown at him. He’s in the midst of a second straight season of carrying a team while Joel Embiid nurses various and sundry injuries, and he’s doing it well enough to wonder if the center of gravity in the 76ers’ universe has shifted.
For much of Maxey’s first five seasons, he’s helped fill the quandary of whom to surround Embiid with. He’s been the only stable answer to that question, with Jimmy Butler, Ben Simmons, James Harden and Paul George (thus far, at least) futilely filling that third spot.
But Maxey’s growth is sufficient to wonder if, when Embiid happens to be healthy enough to resume basketball, it’s the other way around. Instead of wondering if the 76ers are squandering Embiid’s limited window to compete for an NBA title, maybe it’s Maxey’s time they’re wasting.
Maxey was an All-Star and the NBA’s Most Improved Player last year, and his growth has continued under trying conditions this season. The 21st pick in the 2020 NBA Draft is already a profound steal, blossoming into a 43% 3-point shooter and 25.9 point-per-game scorer the last two years.
This year – with Embiid hobbled, George shuffling through a succession of injuries and Caleb Martin and Andre Drummond only occasionally available for work – Maxey has had to keep the team afloat. He’s the only thing standing between the Sixers and tanking oblivion.
“He certainly has flipped the switch,” coach Nick Nurse said after Maxey’s 30 points powered a win over the Kings. “He’s playing so much better, shooting better, making better decisions, just in control of the game and what’s going on. He certainly also has made a bunch of strides, I think, leading the group. He’s really found his voice there.”
On a team of managed loads, Maxey’s availability is an ability many lack. His 37.9 minutes per game is second only to the Knicks’ Mikal Bridges in the NBA and 32nd in total minutes played, the only player in the top 55 to have played fewer than 40 games as of Friday. He’s upped his scoring to 27.1 points per game, sixth in the NBA, and he’s third in steals per outing, a new defensive wrinkle.
The splits without George and Embiid tell conflicting tales. With Maxey, they’re crystal clear: The 76ers are 1-6 in games he’s missed.
Maxey excelled as Embiid’s facilitator. He’s succeeding now as a floor general. And he’s done it while withstanding profound change, not just night-to-night but in losing for the first time as a pro. The 76ers played .632 ball in his first four seasons, averaging 50 wins per campaign (even with the abbreviated slate his rookie year). Sitting 3-14 in November and 15-27 in January was as foreign as it was repugnant.
He’s admitted that it took time to cope with the losses, answering for the team’s record while buoying morale that all the close decisions would turn around eventually. He’s been tasked not just with filling the Embiid-sized scoring void while adding nuance to his game as the focal point of opposing defenses, but also guiding an almost entirely new roster to find their responsibilities.
“I know for him personally, he really wants to win and he really thought this could be the season where we could make a huge run at it, and it’s obviously not too late,” Ricky Council said. “But the last couple of games, he’s just taking over.”
November seems distant in many ways, even if the vigil for Embiid’s knee continues. The reported outburst then, of Maxey confronting Embiid for being late to workouts, hasn’t signaled a permanent change in the room, if only because Embiid has rarely been present.
But on the court, the change seems more solid. Since injuring his knee a year ago Thursday, Embiid has played 25 games: Five in the regular season, the play-in game against Miami, six in the playoffs and 13 this year. The Sixers have found ways to win without him, in part by accepting his regular absence. If Embiid returns to a team that is winning, the team will face the difficult decision of disrupting success to re-establish the former MVP as the team’s main focus or trying to integrate him as Maxey’s complement.
Maxey Wednesday shared a piece of advice veteran Kyle Lowry offered early in the season: Accept that the defense will key on him, will blitz him over screens or try to send doubles and traps. “The main thing, Nurse said, “is that he’s kind of stuck with it.”
The main avenue for the Sixers to succeed this year may be to stick with Maxey in the lead.
Contact Matthew De George at mdegeorge@delcotimes.com.
Source: Berkshire mont