NEW YORK — Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey continues to be one of the rising stars in the NBA. His ability to take games over, to score in bunches, and to show continued improvement make him one of the top young players in the game.
In Philadelphia’s first-round sweep of the Brooklyn Nets, Maxey led the Sixers in scoring, averaging 21.8 points. He shot 15-for-30 from deep. His ability to put the ball in the basket was needed considering the injury to Joel Embiid and the struggles of James Harden to finish at the rim.
PJ Tucker, who faced Maxey in the 2022 postseason while with the Miami Heat, has enjoyed watching his growth while out on the floor.
“Just his positive energy,” Tucker said. “Reese is always positive, always upbeat, gets his work done, comes in, and plays hard, that’s all you ask for. For our young guys, that’s all you can ask for. He listens and I think that’s the biggest thing. He listens. He takes what you say and he tries to get better every single day so it’s been fun watching him grow.”
Tucker has been a positive influence on the Sixers since his arrival in Philadelphia. His voice has been a big help, and Maxey acknowledged that after the Game 4 win over the Nets.
“We always see his offensive rebounds,” Maxey stated on Tucker. “You see his corner 3s, you see his toughness on the court, but off the court, you don’t see him putting guys to the side like myself where P-Reed (Paul Reed) or even James or the big fella. You don’t see him pull the guys that aside and coaching them and leading. We need that and we appreciate him for that.”
The Sixers will need Maxey to take a big step forward if Philadelphia does face the Boston Celtics in the conference semifinals. He struggled against the Celtics in the regular season. That will need to be addressed heading into the next round.
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