The Philadelphia 76ers felt comfortable parting ways with James Harden after watching Tyrese Maxey break out and dominate without him early in the season.
Maxey is playing at an All-Star and All-NBA level, and he should be an MVP candidate if the Sixers continue to win games at this rate.
However, as big an impact he’s made, the team has also struggled mightily when he’s had to sit, which is obviously a big issue for Nick Nurse’s team.
When asked about that, Joel Embiid admitted that the Maxey-less minutes have been bad all season long, as that has allowed teams to double him and the whole offense has become stagnant and predictable (via Kyle Neubeck).
Asked Embiid about the struggles they’ve had in the Maxey-less minutes this season.
“It’s been bad the whole season”
Says teams are doubling him constantly and they have to find ways to take advantage of it, and that he has to make better reads out of those doubles pic.twitter.com/0aFAB2R4kL
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) November 16, 2023
That was especially evident in Wednesday night’s loss to the Boston Celtics.
The Sixers are a deep team, and Nurse’s new-look offense has gotten every single one of them involved.
Nonetheless, there’s a big need for another ball-handler who can put the rock on the floor and pull the strings of the offense in the second unit, and that’s something they’re going to have to address before it gets out of hand.
Maxey has been stellar at pushing the break, being one of the fastest players in the league and being able to go coast-to-coast in the blink of an eye.
He can also excel in the pick and roll and control the tempo of the game, helping everyone get the rock in their spots.
It’s early to sound off the alarms, but they need to solve that issue as soon as possible.
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