When the 2023-24 season for the National
Basketball Association (NBA) began, the Philadelphia 76ers entered the campaign
with a major question of what they were going to do with their disgruntled half
of their starting backcourt? Well they answered that question at the start of
this month when they dealt said disgruntled star guard to the West Coast back
home to L.A.’s other NBA squad. That decision now looks like a stroke of
genius, especially because of the emergence of the other half of backcourt.
That said rising star made that decision even better by his career-high and
historic scoring performance on Sunday night.
Behind the career-high performance of 50
points on 20/32 from the floor, including 7/11 from three-point range by
starting lead guard Tyrese Maxey to go along with five assists, seven rebounds
and three block shots, the Eastern Conference leading 76ers (8-1) were
victorious 137-126 on Sunday night versus the Indiana Pacers (6-4).
Maxey’s previous career-high was 44 points
on Oct. 28, 2022 against the Toronto Raptors.
Tyrese Maxey By 1st QTR: 8 Points, 3/5 FGs, 2/3 3-Pt.
Quarter Versus 2nd
QTR: 17 Points, 7/11 FGs, 2/4 3-Pt.
The Pacers 3rd
QTR: 9 Points, 3/5 FGs,
4th
QTR: 16 Points, 7/11 FGs, 2/2 3-Pt.
Reigning Kia MVP Joel Embiid, who had a
remarkable performance himself with 37 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists
on 12/26 from the field and 12/14 at the free throw line assisted on Maxey’s
final basket, a 32-foot step-back triple with 1:05 left in the game to cap his
50-point performance.
In Maxey’s postgame interview with NBC
Sports Philadelphia’s sideline reporter Taryn Hatcher, Embiid was waiving his
arms up-and-down trying to cool off Maxey as he was getting a celebratory water
bottle shower from teammate Patrick Beverly
“Joel wanted me to get 50 more than even I
did,” Maxey said after the win. “When he gave me the ball, he said, ‘You are
going to shoot this basketball.’ And that’s why I appreciate my teammates, my
coaches, and the fans. It was a great night and we got the win, which is what
matters most.”
To put into context what Maxey did on
Sunday night, he became just the ninth player in the 78-year history of the 76ers
to score 50-plus points, joining Hall of Famers in the late Wilt Chamberlin (11
times), Hal Greer, Moses Malone, Dolph Schayes, and Allen Iverson (10 times), Embiid
(5 times), Willie Burton, and Dana Barros.
Maxey’s 50-point performance versus the
Pacers were the most by a Sixers’ guard since Iverson in 2005. Maxey became the
second youngest player to score 50 in 76ers’ history at age 23, behind Iverson,
who did it at age 21.
In fact the past 15 50-point performances
by a 76er were either by Embiid, who did it the previous five times or Iverson,
who did it the prior 10.
“I mean that feels great,” Maxey said to
ESPN’s Malika Andrews on Monday’s edition of “NBA Today” of being in the same
conversation with his performance like Iverson did. “That’s a great feeling,
you know? What makes it even better that we won the game.”
Most Points By A Duo In A 1966
*Wilt Chamberlin & *Chet Walker 89 Points
Game In 76ers Franchise 2023 Joel
Embiid & Tyrese Maxey
History *Hall Of Famer 1967 *Wilt Chamberlin & Wali Jones
(Elias Sports Bureau)
Maxey, the Sixers First-Round draft choice (No. 21 overall) out of University
of Kentucky in 2020 had everything working on this night.
He did it defensively turning one of his
three block shots on the evening that he had on the Pacers second-year scoring
sensation Bennedict Mathurin and raced to the other end for a scoring layup on
Pacers’ All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton.
Another score came in the third quarter
where Embiid passed him the ball out of double-team from Bruce Brown and scored
on a drive to the hoop in the halfcourt.
About nearly halfway through the fourth
quarter off a screen from new teammate Nicolas Batum, Maxey hit a step-back
three-pointer. He followed that by taking pass off a double of Tobias Harris
and driving down the lane again for another hoop.
The ability to score in so many ways is
how the player Embiid tagged “The Franchise” in past interviews in referencing
Maxey how he has averaged 28.6 points, 7.2 assists, and 5.4 rebounds on 50.5
percent from the field, 43.1 percent from three-point range, and 93 percent at
the foul line the first nine games of this season. That is up from averages of
15.4 points, 3.3 assists, and 2.7 rebounds per game his first three NBA
seasons.
Since registering 18 points on 7/16 from
the floor, including 0/3 from three in the aforementioned season-opening loss at
the Bucks, Maxey has raised his point production from 22 the next two games, to
25, 29, to his 50-point performance on Sunday evening.
“Trying to be aggressive. Trying to be
aggressive and do it the right way, you know,” Maxey said of his performance.
It was the eighth consecutive win by the Sixers
following their opening night loss (118-117) on Oct 26 at the Milwaukee Bucks
(5-4) on TNT. The Sixers 8-1 start is their best after nine games since
2000-01, where they began 9-0 and reached The Finals led by then league MVP in Hall of Famer Allen Iverson, where they
lost to fellow Hall of Famers in now Turner Sports studio analyst Shaquille O’Neal,
the late Kobe Bryant, and head coach Phil Jackson and the Los Angeles Lakers
4-1.
The Sixers latest hot streaks comes in the
wake of them trading 10-time All-Star James Harden on Nov. 1 back to his hometown
of Los Angeles, CA to play for the Clippers in the wake of this past offseason where
after opting into his $35.6 million salary in the final year of his two-year,
$65.6 million deal and the Sixers front office and President of Basketball Operations
Daryl Morey not trading him.
Things got so bad between Harden and
Morey, who was behind the deal that brought Harden to the Houston Rockets back
in the early 2010s where he had a historic eight seasons and then acquired him
back in February 2021 over the summer called Morey “a liar.”
This had a dark cloud over the Sixers, who
are under a new head coach this season in former sideline leader of the Toronto
Raptors Nick Nurse throughout the offseason and the start of Training Camp back
at the start of October.
Harden did not show up for Media Day and
missed the start of Sixers’ Training Camp in Colorado.
There was hope that Harden and Sixers
front office could come to some resolution. But that never took place and after
a few days at Training Camp, Harden left suddenly for Houston and never
returned until the season got underway.
The Sixers were at a crossroads and they decided
that it was time for them to get out of the Harden business and they dealt him
to the Clippers along with veteran forward/center P.J. Tucker and
forward/center Filip Petrusev in exchange for Batum, Marcus Morris, Sr., Robert
Covington, and youngster Kenyon Martin “KJ,” Jr.
The Sixers also acquired from the Clippers
a 2024 and 2028 First-Round pick; a 2026 First-round pick from the Oklahoma
City Thunder; 2029 protected First-Round pick swap from the Clippers along with
a 2029 Second-Round pick and cash considerations.
The Thunder in the deal acquired 2027
First-Round pick swap from the Clippers along with cash considerations.
While the Sixers got some major
compensation from the Clippers in solid veteran players, who are on the last
year of their deals and draft compensation the question now was who was going
to rise up and be the Robin to Embiid as Batman in terms of scoring.
Maxey has taken on that role and the now
23-year-old from Texas has flourished in his new role so far as a scorer and
facilitator and understands how important he has become to the Sixers’ hopes of
winning the franchise’s first title since 1983.
Maxey told Andrews when it came to Embiid
posting a picture of the two of them on his social media calling them “The
Franchise,” he called it “great.”
“Joel has been like a big brother to me since
Day One,” Maxey added. “He’s had this confidence in me that I think nobody else
probably had in around town. But for the MVP to have confidence in you and want
you to go out there and be successful and he has the ultimate faith in my
abilities, it just makes me go out there and be the best version of myself honestly.”
Along with the phrase that he got from Embiid,
Maxey also shared with Andrews that he got a message from his former college coach
in John Calipari, who asked how many points did he score, 45? Maxey said he
laughed at the message.
The other message that he got was from his
mother and his twin nieces who watched the game on Sunday night, a day before
their birthdays. Maxey said in a video that was sent to him showed his mother,
grandmother, sister, and aforementioned twin nieces were all hyped. But his
father in the video was sitting with his arms crossed with no smile.
“I mean, honestly it’s just he believes in
me,” Maxey said of that moment from his dad after scoring 50 versus the Pacers.
“He expects it of me and I work extremely hard every single day, whether its
summertime or in-season time. So, I love them and I appreciate their support.”
As great as he and Embiid were versus the
Pacers, Harris played well also with 18 points and nine rebounds on 9/20
shooting. Melton added 10 points and six assists.
“It comes with great responsibility,”
Maxey said of his new role this season with the Sixers. “Having that freedom.
Being able to shoot and being able to kind of get up shots when you want to.”
“I still try to get guys open. Still try
to get guys great shots. Tobias [Harris], Melt [De’Anthony Melton]. Shout out
to them. They were great tonight as well. And that’s what I’ve been trying to
do and the balance is hard but it’s a part of it. I appreciate my teammates,
the organization, and the coaching staff, being patient with me. So, I just go
out there and try my best to help us win games.”
Getting to this point as Maxey said has not
been easy. It has taken a lot of work and dedication to his craft to reach this
point at least to start this season to where the Sixers rely on his production alongside
Embiid to win games.
As a rookie, Maxey averaged eight points
on 46.2 percent shooting as a rookie in 2020-21 on 30.1 percent from three
(31/103 3-Pt.) in 61 games played, starting eight of those contest. He rose that
to 17.5 points, going 48.5 percent from the field and 42.7 percent from
three-point range (132/309 3-Pt.) in 2021-22 in 75 games played, starting in 74
of those games. In 2022-23, Maxey despite playing on 60 games due to injury
early last season averaged a career-high 20.3 points on 48.1 percent shooting,
including 43.4 percent (160/369 3-Pt.) on his triple tries.
Along with increasing his scoring, Maxey
has improved as a facilitator registering four double-doubles already this
season after registering just one double-double entering this campaign, which he
had in 2021-22.
What the emergence of Maxey has done
alongside Embiid along with the rest of the 76ers cast has given them is more cohesiveness
that many felt was going to be a struggle entering this season.
The subtraction of Harden has provided
more clarity for the Sixers’ top players. They have needed Embiid to remain
healthy and productive, he has risen to the task where he could win a second
straight league MVP.
Maxey, as previously mentioned, has taken
on the role as this team’s second scoring option as well as being their point
guard and it has worked. In the first nine games of this season, Maxey has
totaled 65 assists and just 10 turnovers.
Harris has stepped to be the third option where
he has mixed up his game to where he scores from the perimeter as well as
inside as opposed to the previous year-plus where he was basically a standstill
jump shooter, especially from three-point range when Harden was in the fold.
One player that played a major role in the
Sixers’ red-hot start to this season was Kelly Oubre, Jr., who the Sixers signed
late in free agency to be a major contributor off the bench. With Harden being
out, Oubre, Jr. stepped up as a starter for the Sixers and was averaging 16.3
points and 5.1 boards on 50 percent from the floor and 37.8 percent from
three-point range.
The Sixers were without Oubre, Jr. on
Sunday night versus the Pacers after suffering a fractured rib along with injuries
to his right hip and right leg due to getting hit by a car in a hit-and-run incident
on a street in Center City Philadelphia, PA on Saturday night at 7 p.m.
according to ABC affiliate 6ABC in Philadelphia.
It was also reported by 6ABC that police
say that it was a silver vehicle that fled the scene after the incident with
Oubre, Jr. and the investigation is still active.
Oubre, Jr. was taken to Jefferson Hospital
where 76ers representatives, including Morey. He will be re-evaluated in a week
and will be out for “significant period of time,” with the hope he can return before
the conclusion of this season.
In a tweet @Bleacher Report, ESPN’s Senior
NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski said that while Oubre, Jr. was released from
Jefferson Hospital on the same night, Oubre, Jr. “will work closely with the
76ers medical staff on treatment and care for his injuries.”
After the Sixers’ win versus the Pacers,
Oubre’s teammates sent him a video of their post-game locker room celebration
after not being able to get him off of FaceTime.
“The game today, I’m sure Tyrese was
thinking about it and we were all thinking about it,” Embiid said about Oubre,
Jr’s absence. “We just want him to take his time, recover and know that we have
his back. He’s needed because he’s a big part of us. We missed him tonight, but
he should take his time.”
Maxey added to that by saying in his
postgame interview with Hatcher on Oubre, Jr. that his 50-point night “had
nothing to do” with him. That it was all about Oubre, Jr.
“We’re praying for him, man. Love my dog,
man. I just met him but I love him…, and I hope he gets well soon.”
Perhaps the most important thing that Maxey’s
emergence has done for the Sixers has made them more attractive for players who
are unhappy with their current situation and wanting to be part of a team that
has the makings of winning a title this spring.
The have the expiring contracts of Batum,
Covington, and Morris, Sr., and they have pool of draft picks, and First and
Second Rounders. So, if they want to go out and fortify their bench or add
another player who can be their fifth starter possibly, they can On top of that,
they have the guy in the front office in Morey who has shown in his time with
the Rockets and the 76ers that if there is a move that will add more talent to
a team, he is not afraid to go and get that player or players.
When the 2023-24 NBA season began, many
experts had the Milwaukee Bucks and the Boston Celtics as the teams to play in
the Eastern Conference Finals this spring. The Philadelphia 76ers were a
distant third in the Conference because of the James Harden cloud.
The trade of Harden to the Los Angeles
Clippers and the players and draft capital they got in return. The play of Joel
Embiid and Tyrese Maxey and the start the Sixers have gotten off to has them a
top the East right now.
How Sixers’ President Daryl Morey can turn
that draft capital and possibly the expiring contracts into additional depth to
the roster. The healthy and continued strong play from Embiid and Maxey, and
Tobias Harris will be the keys for the 76ers in their quest to win their first
NBA title since 1983.
Maxey said to Andrews following the 76ers
106-103 victory versus the Celtics last Wednesday night that Coach Nurse said
something what he called “very enlightened,” when asked after that win, “everyone
wants to know if we’re for real?”
Coach Nurse said, “win, lose or draw, we’re
serious.”
Maxey also said that since the first day
Coach Nurse became the 76ers head coach he has implemented a serious approach
to everything the team does to get to that championship level.
“Training Camp for us was very serious and
every single day that we [have] come in, guys have taken every drill. Every
single film session. Every single workout. Guys that are playing are extremely
serious out there on the court. And we have a goal in mind, and we go out there,
and we compete every single night.”
Information, statistics, and quotations
are courtesy of 8/2/2023 https://sixerswire.usatoday.com
story, “Every Philadelphia 76ers Player Who Has Scored 50 Points In A Game,” By
Ky Carlin; 11/12/2023 1 a.m. NBATV’s “Gametime,” presented by Kia With Chris
Miles and Dennis Scott; 11/13/2023 1 a.m. NBATV’s “Gametime,” With Stephanie
Ready, Steve Smith, and Greg Anthony; 11/13/2023 3 p.m. ESPN 2’s edition “NBA
Today,” With Malika Andrews, Ramona Shelburne, Ros Gold-Onwude, Zach Lowe, and
Kendrick Perkins; https://www.nba.com/game/ind-vs-phi-0022300180;
https://statsmz.nba.com/20231112_INDPHI_book.pdf;
https://www.espn.com/nba/player/stats/_/id/4431678/tyrese-maxey;
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023-24_Los_Angeles_Clippers_season#Transactions;
and https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia_76ers.
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