Getty Tyrese Maxey of the Philadelphia 76ers.
There was a moment earlier this season when it looked like the Philadelphia 76ers‘ hype train for Tyrese Maxey would be derailed. The former Kentucky Wildcat missed a chunk of November and almost all of December with a foot injury against the Milwaukee Bucks, bringing the player’s strong start to a screeching halt.
While Maxey sat, others like De’Anthony Melton rose.
In fact, once Maxey was back healthy, his spot among the starting five was no longer guaranteed; he started just seven contests of his first 26 games back from injury after starting in each of the Sixers’ first 15 games of the season.
After the bench demotion, his production plummeted. In January and February, he shot just 36% from three and 44.6% from the field, good for 17.8 points per game. Not horrible, but it was far from the lights-out shooter Sixers fans had come to love.
But Maxey has put those concerns in the rearview. Since re-entering the starting five on March 1, he’s back up to 53.1% from three and 55% from the field, going for 23 points per night. His brilliance was on full display against the Suns on Saturday night, when he dropped a game-high 37 points on seven-for-11 shooting from three.
After the game, Suns head coach Monty Williams marveled at Maxey’s play, breathing a sigh of relief that his team didn’t let anyone else get too hot.
“If you think about their team and how they shoot and score the ball, to hold these guys to 105, I mean that’s a huge accomplishment for us,” Williams said after the game, per the Jump View YouTube Channel. “I thought we got timely stops tonight. I mean Maxey was shooting the ball well but nobody else got loose and that was huge. Again, coming off of a back-to-back, and again, our best offense is a defensive stop.”
While Joel Embiid and James Harden have deservedly drawn much attention for the Sixers’ recent strong form, Maxey hasn’t been far behind him in terms of reliability.
Monty Williams Calls Out Joel Embiid After 76ers Loss to Suns
But what about the 76ers’ MVP frontrunner in Embiid? He finished the contest against the Suns with 28 points and 1o rebounds, a pedestrian showing by a player only recently removed from a 10-game streak of 30 points or more.
Williams was also quick to praise Embiid and the caliber of play he brings to the table.
“I think it was huge for sure because nobody does it better than Jo (Joel Embiid),” Williams told reporters postgame. “I mean he’s big, he’s mobile, he can draw contact and finish and you have to just move on to the next play.”
The Sixers will next battle the Denver Nuggets and Embiid’s MVP rival Nikola Jokic. A strong showing from either player could help to decide who is named this season’s Most Valuable Player.
Bismack Biyombo Calls Out Joel Embiid After Suns Beat 76ers
Suns big man Bismack Biyombo faced the unenviable job of defending Embiid for much of the night with DeAndre Ayton out.
Biyombo made the most of his assignment, finishing with an impressive 17 point, 13 rebound double-double.
After the game, Biyombo shouted out his teammates for propelling him to a strong showing.
“Thank God everything kind of worked out for us,” Biyombo said after the game, per USA Today. “We were really focused on helping out one another. I think everyone did a good job. Our second unit was able to sustain us, T.J. Warren played extremely great, Terrence Ross played extremely great, Jock, Cameron Payne. Just play through each other and try to make sure we can maintain that energy.”
But Biyombo also noted that Embiid is a unique challenge to guard:
“Obviously, Joel is a great player. I think we tried to throw him different looks the whole night. Obviously, I had to guard him. When you play a player like that, it is always a team effort.”