PHILADELPHIA–The key for the Philadelphia 76ers continues to be Tyrese Maxey and his balance of scoring and playmaking. The young guard out of Kentucky is continuing to find that balance.
In Friday’s win over the Atlanta Hawks, Maxey finished with 30 points on 8-for-18 shooting with seven assists on the night. Through three quarters, Maxey had 14 points on 4-for-12 shooting.
He erupted in the fourth as he scored 16 points on 4-for-6 shooting and was 7-for-8 from the free-throw line. When Maxey is aggressive, that is when Philadelphia is at its best and Joel Embiid knows it.
“It also doesn’t hurt to keep reminding him,” said Embiid. “When it’s not in your nature to just do that, it takes a while. I still struggle with it sometimes, I might be going through the motions. So, it’s going to take a while, but it’s really all about finding your spots and know when to be aggressive. So, I think that’s what it’s about.”
It was obvious something flipped with Maxey in the fourth quarter. He was much more aggressive looking for his offense and making sure he was in the right position to succeed. Especially, after a bad second quarter when the Hawks surged.
“I just wanted to be extremely aggressive,” said Maxey. “I didn’t like how I played at the beginning of our second unit stint in the second quarter. I felt like I was just out there and I wasn’t aggressive, I wasn’t demanding the ball, and I wasn’t going to let that happen twice. So it was better at the beginning of the fourth, got a quick break, and then got to go back in and hit a big shot, and make some free throws, and get some stops, and we won. So that is great.”
Embiid is continuing to push Maxey to be aggressive and put the ball in the basket. As the Sixers move forward, they will need their rising star point guard to get after it in terms of his scoring and his ability to both score and make plays for others.
“He’s on me all the time about shooting and being aggressive,” said Maxey. “He knows if I’m aggressive it’s going to open up looks for him. So, we try to do that.”
Maxey and the Sixers will have two days off before taking on the Washington Wizards at home on Monday.
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