FORT COLLINS, Colo.–The Philadelphia 76ers will be turning to Tyrese Maxey to do more playmaking on the offensive end. While the young guard out of Kentucky has shown an obvious knack for scoring, he will have to take a step forward in his playmaking abilities.
When considering the James Harden saga, the Sixers will have to look to somebody else to run the offense from the point guard spot. That is where Maxey comes in and he will have to take a step forward in that department.
Through the first few practices of training camp, Maxey has caught the eyes of Joel Embiid.
“I think Tyrese, just for me, first few practices, playmaking-wise, he’s already gotten way better,” Embiid stated. “Obviously, we got to wait until a game and see how other teams guard us, but I think he’s gonna make a huge improvement when it comes to that.”
The biggest thing with Maxey is to be better with his pocket passing and his ability to make the right decisions when defenses collapse on him. Embiid is seeing improvement in that area.
“He’s making some nice passes,” Embiid continued. “Behind the back, pocket passes, and I told him right before the summer started, I just told him I was like, ‘If you learn how to make those pocket passes, you’re gonna be an All-Star. I’m gonna make sure you’re an All-Star.’ I think he’s been working on his game all summer and he’s done a great job.”
Of course, Maxey will have to tackle some challenges throughout the 2023-24 season. The young guard will be looking to do more for this Sixers team under all of the Harden uncertainty. However, Embiid believes that Maxey has what it takes.
“He’s got a long way to go,” Embiid finished. “There’s gonna be a lot of challenges on the way. It’s all about staying positive. Especially, because when you play different teams and different schemes, and you got to figure that out on the fly. That’s hard, but we’re here to help him.”
The Sixers will open the preseason schedule on Sunday when they take on the Boston Celtics on the road.
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