PHILADELPHIA–Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey missed 18 games due to a left foot fracture that he suffered back on Nov. 18 and with that much missed time, any player’s rhythm can be thrown off.
In four games since his return, he’s averaging 16.0 points and 3.8 assists while shooting 41.8% from the floor and 42.1% from deep. He continues to get better by the game and in Friday’s loss to the Chicago Bulls, Maxey had 26 points and six assists while knocking down five triples.
He continues to look more comfortable out on the floor and he admitted as such after the loss.
“Huge difference,” he said. “I forget how hard it was to play NBA games. I mean, these are the best players in the world. So it was like extremely hard to like get rhythm and get your spots because guys are good. So I think that was my biggest thing trying to get rhythm and trying to flow and catch right into what the team has been doing.”
James Harden, who missed time with his own foot injury, had advice for Maxey recently for his recovery. When he heard that the young man is trying to just fit in, he had some more advice for him.
“He doesn’t need to worry about that,” said The Beard. “He just needs to worry about him playing well and it’s like I keep saying, every game, he’s gonna continue to get better. He did an unbelievable job of just being Tyrese. So that’s what we’re gonna expect from him every game.”
When one watches Friday’s contest, one can see that Maxey is really getting it back. His burst to the basket, his ability to knock down shots under duress, and just his knack for scoring is a big help to this team on the floor.
“Yeah, it’s coming back,” said coach Doc Rivers. “You can see it. It’s back to me. More importantly, his shot’s back you know, and I think his shot sets up everything else for him. So I think Tyrese is good to go.”
With that being said, Maxey understands that this will take time. This isn’t anything that will come back in a snap. It has to be a game-by-game thing.
“I was out, I think, six weeks however long it was so hard to get back,” he said. “So I had to get acclimated back to the speed of the game. You can play against coaches and then player development all day long, but at the end of the day, they’re in they’re not in the NBA. So it’s like they help, but playing against the real NBA players is extremely hard. So it’s just that. The physical and then the rhythm. I’m still trying to get it back.”
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