How Tyrese Maxey's playmaking opened up 76ers star's hot scoring night vs. Kings

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Tyrese Maxey and the Philadelphia 76ers are on a roll. They have won their last four games despite Joel Embiid missing each of them and Paul George missing the previous two. Their most recent win was a 117-104 victory over the Sacramento Kings where Maxey immediately changed the way they guarded him.

Maxey has a lot on his plate without Embiid and George but has managed to keep the team afloat. He often leans on Kyle Lowry, whose vast NBA experience makes him a fountain of wisdom. Maxey shared the best piece of advice he got all season from Lowry, an insight that was extremely relevant against Sacramento’s blitz-happy defense.

"He gives meadviceeveryday," Maxey told reporters, "butI think the best pieceofadvice he’s given me is, 'Dude,accept the pressure andaccept the way teamsareguarding you the way they have to guard you. They’reputtingtwo on the ball,they’redenying,they’re doing all the different things. You have to acceptthatfirstandonce you acceptit, then you’re gonnastart breaking it down.' And Iappreciatehim for that."

Maxey recognized the Kings blitzing him early in the game and played accordingly. He notched 30 points and eight assists on 12-24 shooting from the field. Before he could score, he had to give up the ball.

Tyrese Maxey keeps composure against Kings’ aggressive defense

The Kings opened the game by blitzing on-ball screens, immediately swarming Tyrese Maxey near halfcourt. Against similar defenses last season, Maxey and the Sixers were totally flummoxed. The Sixers’ recent four-game winning streak has been made possible by a seismic improvement.

To snap an early Sacramento run, the Sixers earned Kelly Oubre Jr. an open dunk through some zig-zag passing that started with a quick kick from Maxey. Eric Gordon gave him a good passing angle by coming higher up the court and then swung the ball right to a rolling Guerschon Yabusele. The Frenchman delivered the bounce pass right on the money and Oubre took care of the rest.

Although Maxey is the farthest from the easy bucket, he’s the reason for it. The Kings started the game with a mindset of letting someone else beat them, which was also evidenced by how they frequently, urgently switched against Maxey to keep a defender in front of him at all times but did not do that for anyone else. Maxey, with his selflessness and quick thinking, was happy to oblige.

On the 76ers’ next possession, Oubre leaks out to the wing after setting the screen and scores a layup. His decision to drive into traffic rather than shoot the open three wasn't the most sound. His decision not to bounce it down to Yabusele (or even dish it to Justin Edwards in the corner) was even worse. However, in the end, his touch still resulted in points and further illustrated how the Kings’ aggressive defense on Maxey could backfire.

Slowly but surely, the Kings backed off their double-teaming scheme. They didn't completely stop sending another defender up to Maxey but they picked their spots more cautiously. This opened up more scoring chances for Maxey to take advantage of himself.

For instance, when Kevin Huerter followed the screener up the court to meet Maxey, he still surrendered enough space for Maxey to drive. The speedy guard slammed on the breaks, dribbled behind his back and rose up for a jumper. He also got an isolation possession to end the first half, scoring on a fadeaway in the final seconds before the break.

In the second half, the Kings switched to a zone defense, picking Maxey up right at halfcourt. With some man-to-man still in their back pocket, they tried to prevent the quick ball movement that left them helpless on the backside. It managed to gunk the Sixers up but they adjusted and once again climbed out of a deficit.

Maxey may be why the Kings willingly put themselves at a disadvantage but his teammates are why they couldn't get away with it. On top of the star guard enhancing his feel for the game, his team has done a much better job of capitalizing on his talents.

With their blitzing defense proven too weak, the Kings gave Maxey those juicy one-on-one matchups where he leaves most defenders helpless. Although he also scored a handful of buckets on fast breaks, he got cleaner looks in the halfcourt, too.

The 76ers further tapped into Maxey’s speed with screens set both for him and by him. A dribble handoff/ghost screen with him and Oubre parted the Kings’ perimeter defense, rolling out a path to the paint. Keeping up with Maxey is hard enough; the difficulty level only skyrockets when he attacks off the catch.

Tyrese Maxey stayed patient and didn't hurry himself. He didn't commit any turnovers in the first half and made all six of his shot attempts within the restricted arc.

The Sixers’ offense was far from perfect, committing turnovers in spurts and going cold at various points even with Maxey in. They allowed a 24-8 run at a point in the third quarter, allowing Sacramento to take a 12-point lead. Still, it flashed cohesiveness and composure that hadn't been seen at earlier points in the season. Just when they looked dead in the water, the Sixers have started to power through.

The post How Tyrese Maxey’s playmaking opened up 76ers star’s hot scoring night vs. Kings appeared first on ClutchPoints.

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