Philadelphia 76ers rookie guard Tyrese Maxey has been turning a lot of heads to begin his initial season in the NBA. The 21st pick in the 2020 NBA draft always had a role on the Sixers as a guy who could provide offensive play off the bench, but his defense is something that continues to come along.
In Saturday’s matchup with the Denver Nuggets where Maxey had to carry the brunt of the offensive load due to the Sixers being severely shorthanded and he responded by dropping 39 points, but he also had to defend Nuggets star Jamal Murray on the other end while also being switched onto Nikola Jokic at times.
“Danny Green talked to me a lot before the game. He gave me pointers on guarding Jamal, he had to guard him last year in the Western Conference Finals a little bit, but he’s great…He’s been doing his defensive thing and playing in the NBA for a long time so he’s giving me a lot of pointers and I really appreciate him for that.”
Maxey certainly has been put through the wringer in the NBA thus far. He’s had to be matched up with the likes of Bradley Beal, LaMelo Ball, Caris LeVert, and then Murray so he is learning a lot to begin the season.
“I think he’s finding out that there’s a lot of good guards in the NBA is what I would say,” said coach Doc Rivers. “He struggles in pick-and-roll right now, he doesn’t struggle with individual defense. For a rookie, I would say that that’s a good thing. He can stay in front of the ball, he’s got to learn how to navigate screens right now, and he’ll do that because he’s a quick learner.”
Of course, it doesn’t help that Maxey was not able to have a summer league nor was he able to have a full training camp. As mentioned before, he is really learning on the fly, and he is having to learn in tough conditions.
“It’s difficult because of a short training camp, no summer league, so I’ve got to learn a lot on the fly,” Maxey added. “Guys like Dwight, Tobias, Joel, they’re all helping me. They’re talking to me, and for the most part, I try to fight over every single screen or doing whatever it is the coaches ask me to do. Defense wins games and wins championships and that’s what I take pride in. I like to win so I’ve got to play defense on the other end.”
The good thing is, Maxey has proven to be a quick learner and he is a guy who is surrounded by some good veterans. He has a lot to get better at, but the hope is that he can continue his progression in the future.
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