Tyrese Maxey continues to impress in Las Vegas. The guard scored 31 points in Philadelphia’s 96-88 win over Atlanta, though it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. The team got out to a sluggish start and Maxey took the blame for the uneven halves.
“I put those first-half struggles on me, mainly because I came out pressing…I was shooting bad shots, trying to find my shot, Maxey told FortyEightMinutes and other media via zoom after the win. The point guard added that he received some encouragement from Brian Adams and the coaching staff to get the other teammates involved, something he did to the tune of five assists.
Maxey, who was the No. 20 overall pick in the 2020 draft, had an impressive rookie season, playing 15.3 minutes per game for the No. 1 seed Sixers. As our own Mark Thompson wrote, Maxey taking the next step in his game will put Philadelphia in good position to build on their status as a top team in the Eastern Conference. The Sixers believe that’s happening in front our eyes.
“I think we knew Maxey’s a high-level player, and on this stage, he’s done really well in these two games,” said coach Adams. “…He’s one of the hardest workers we have so he’s just continually improved so it’s awesome to see and I think it’s going to pay dividends come the next season here.”
