PHILADELPHIA — Young Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey continues to take strides on the floor. He is averaging 26.1 points and 6.7 assists while handling the responsibilities of being the No. 2 scorer next to Joel Embiid and running the offense as the point guard.
A big key to Maxey’s success on the floor is his volume 3-point shooting. He is not afraid to pull the trigger on an open look. He is averaging 8.3 attempts per game and knocking them down at a 40% clip. That type of production is a huge key to the success of this group.
Maxey works maniacally at his game at a high level, but he is also a student of the game. He knows there are great examples of players who shoot 3-pointers at a high volume, such as Damian Lillard and Steph Curry, to watch and learn from.
“Yeah,” Maxey began. “It’s a few. Just off the top of my head, Dame and Steph are guys who shoot a lot. Anfernee Simons is a guy who can shoot off the pocket pull-up 3s. I watch a lot of that. Just hunting those 3s because it helps us. It makes the defender come up. Especially, Joel’s man.”
In Wednesday’s win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, Maxey scored 15 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter. He attempted five triples, making two of them in big moments. That forced the Wolves to change their defensive scheme when it came to trying to stop Embiid.
“They can’t drop and just play drop, drop, drop coverage,” Maxey added. “So I’m able to just shoot those 3s off the dribble so it just makes them run on me and I can get easier pocket passes to big fella.”
Maxey is already a talented player, but for the Sixers to take the leap they expect, they need him to continue learning. Watching guys such as Lillard and Curry is a good start.
[lawrence-related id=87973,87834,87943]