CAMDEN, N.J. — A look at Philadelphia 76ers star Tyrese Maxey’s numbers reveals he is averaging 25.8 points and 6.7 assists. He is shooting 46% from the floor and 39.9% from deep. And he has been handling the point guard position quite well.
While Maxey has been terrific and is clearly on his way to becoming one of the top players in the league, running the point is not easy. There are going to be bumps along the way.
For example, after Monday’s loss to the Chicago Bulls, Maxey admitted he is still seeking the balance between scoring and making plays for others. He ended up with 29 points and eight assists, but he scored 15 of those 29 points in the fourth quarter.
“I think it’s been good,” coach Nick Nurse said of Maxey’s growth. “I think he’s played outstanding in a lot of facets, but I still said this all along, too, we’re still trying to grow him in all parts of that position, right? And there’s some really difficult things that that position kind of encompasses like just getting execution constantly. It’s like it doesn’t take a rest.”
Nurse is correct. Just because there’s a stoppage in play doesn’t mean Maxey’s job pauses. He immediately has to get everybody organized for the next play on offense.
“The ball goes out of bounds and now you’re telling everybody what we’re running, where they’re supposed to be if they’re not sure,” Nurse added. “Coming up the floor, defenses, changes defenses, that just never stops, and that becomes a workload both mentally and physically that you gotta get done and he’s done really awesome.”
As mentioned, Maxey has been terrific. He is likely to make the All-Star team and an All-NBA appearance is possible if he keeps this up. He has a maniacal work ethic, so he should continue to grow.
“I thought he’s made a couple leaps early on in the season,” Nurse continued. “I talked about how organizing the team, all that kind stuff, but I think that it’s still an area of growth that we’re gonna get through and because of every game and all these scenarios are so different, you gotta see a lot of different things to kinda get through them and if they don’t go so good, we talk about them, and the next time will be a little better, but we still gotta see a lot of things yet I think. There’s room for growth there.”
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