The Philadelphia 76ers have their eyes set on winning a championship in July. Therefore, few opportunities exist for their younger guys to make a big dent in the team’s rotation.
The team has three talented rookies: Tyrese Maxey, Paul Reed and Isaiah Joe who figure to be a part of the team’s future at some point. Maxey was a big part of the rotation in January when the team was hit hard by the health and safety protocols, and Joe made a big impact on the floor as well. They are good young players who need time to develop.
Those three may not be playing much, but they are making sure they are seen with their work in practice. Maxey even had nine points on Friday against the Los Angeles Clippers.
“Him and Paul Reed and Isaiah, along with our skill development, if you watch them work, and I’ve been coaching 20 years, is the best group I’ve seen what you would call the low minute group,” said coach Doc Rivers. “It’s the hardest working low-minute group I’ve ever been around.”
When a young player is on a great team like the Sixers where minutes are hard to come by, he has to make his mark in the practice facility. He has to work hard and continue making an impression on the coaching staff.
“They work every day, they play scrimmages, they play hard, they execute our stuff, and that is hard for a rookie,” Rivers added. “You’re not playing a lot, you don’t know if you’re gonna play, and show up every day, and want to work on stuff that you probably won’t be able to do, man it’s hard so I give them a lot of credit.”
For Maxey specifically, he was receiving big minutes in January for the reasons previously mentioned. Then when the team got healthy again, his minutes dropped, and he has received his fair share of “DNP-CD” reasons in the final box score.
When Rivers does call on him, he makes an impact a bit. He played well in his minutes against Los Angeles, and it’s clear that Maxey will have a role on this team soon.
“He’s kept his focus,” Rivers finished. “I keep telling him I said ‘Man, you’re gonna win a game for us. You’re gonna win a game during the regular season, you can win a game in the playoffs for us, you just have to be ready when that time comes’.”
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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