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After spending a month and a half as the Philadelphia 76ers‘ sixth man, Tyrese Maxey has re-joined the starting lineup since their March 1 matchup against the Miami Heat. Following the Sixers’ comeback victory against the Milwaukee Bucks, Maxey talked about the difference between starting and coming off the bench.
“I think the biggest difference is I can find (a) rhythm,” Maxey told reporters, per Ky Carlin of SixersWire. “Maybe get a shot to go in early. A pass from Jo (Embiid) or James (Harden) and then when I stay out of the second group, and I’m by myself, I feel more comfortable so I’ve had the ball I’ve already got a shot in, but you gotta be adaptable. You gotta be ever-changing environment. Off the bench or starting, it don’t really matter.”
Maxey played a pivotal role in the Sixers’ 18-point comeback against the Bucks, scoring 26 points while shooting eight-for-12 from the field, including two-for-five from three and eight-for-eight from the free throw line.
Doc Rivers Singles Out Maxey-James Harden Combo
After the Sixers beat the Bucks, Sixers’ head coach Doc Rivers explained why James Harden makes a big difference in Maxey’s performance, though he remains non-committal on whether Maxey will continue starting going forward.
“The only difference to me, obviously, is when you play with James, it helps him,” Rivers said. “It’s when you don’t start him, it’s very tough to get him high minutes. That’s what we were struggling with. That doesn’t mean going to start him every night, but it is tough.”
Rivers also said that the Sixers want him to play a big role whether he’s coming off the bench or starting next to Harden and Joel Embiid.
“You give away those first six minutes and now we want him to be a 34-minute player whether he’s off the bench or not,” Rivers added. “When he comes off the bench, that’s hard to get and that’s when we start thinking.”
Maxey may very well continue starting or he may go back to a bench role. No matter what, the performances like the one he had against the Bucks demonstrate the value he has for the Sixers.
Sixers’ Updates on P.J. Tucker and Tobias Harris
The Sixers beat the Bucks despite losing Tobias Harris and P.J. Tucker during the game. After the game, both Rivers and Tucker provided updates on where the two Sixers’ wings stand health-wise. Rivers did not sound optimistic either would play in the Sixers next game against the Indiana Pacers.
“I have no idea,” Rivers said, per Carlin. “My guess, if I was a guessing man, yes, just watching them in the locker room, but we have 48 hours. So, you know, these guys are different.”
Tucker admitted he’s been dealing with back spasms before the Sixers took on the Bucks.
“I’ve been fighting back spasms the last two days, and today (Saturday) just went crazy,” Tucker said. “I couldn’t run. I couldn’t jump. So I just went to the back, try to get it better. I couldn’t get better.”
Though Tucker’s been dealing with his injury for the past few days, he could not confirm if he would miss their next game.
“We’ll see,” Tucker added. “We got a day between. Do all the treatment when I can and see what happens.”
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