To say Tyrese Maxey is good at basketball is an understatement. In the first 18 games he has averaged 27 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 6.7 assists with minimal turnovers. His terrific breakout season has been on full display this past week.
Slow start no more
For the most part in this young season, Tyrese Maxey has gotten off to slow starts. He has struggled to be aggressive in the first quarter, but eventually gets himself going in the second. Maxey leads the league in points scored in the second quarter with 9.3 points. But, that isn’t good enough for him and he knows he needs to be more aggressive early. On Monday night against the Lakers, that trend changed a little.
Prior to the game, Maxey told head coach Nick Nurse that he was going to be aggressive early and he kept his promise. He had 10 points in the first quarter and finished the game with 31 to contribute to the blowout win. If he continues to approach every game with that aggressiveness from the jump, the Sixers become that much more scary. Maxey knows it too.
The best duo in the NBA
Yes I know that sounds biased, but when Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey are locked in they are unstoppable. Together they average a league leading 58.7 points per game. Those two worked all offseason on their two-man game and it shows. It gives flashbacks to what Joel had with JJ Redick, except more lethal. Maxey’s ability to put the ball on the floor while simultaneously being a threat on the three-point line makes guarding them a nightmare for defenses.
In Monday’s blowout win, the Lakers tried to offset the pair by throwing Max Christie on Maxey but he ended up looking like he was in a wild goose chase. Their offensive scheme has been a huge factor in why the Sixers have been so successful on that end of the floor. Tyrese has proven himself to be the perfect running mate for Joel.
Game recognizes game
As we all know by now Maxey works as hard as anyone in the league. When working out with NBA champ LeBron James, Maxey would beat him to the gym. Until one day LeBron had enough and showed up to the at 5 a.m., an hour before the workout started. By the time Tyrese got there LeBron was in a full sweat. He told Tyrese that he couldn’t let him beat him to the gym.
Maxey’s hard work doesn’t go unnoticed to the legends of the NBA. James credited Maxey’s performance against the Lakers with a story on Instagram with the caption, “Love this kid man! The work never lie and that’s why he’s so damn good!! And more importantly he’s a better person which is insane!!”
Maxey has been the main reason (outside of the obvious) why the Sixers have been so successful thus far. We legitimately cannot praise this kid enough.
Photo: David Berding/Getty Images
The post Exploring the Impact of Maxey’s Breakout Season appeared first on Philadelphia Sports Nation.