Tyrese Maxey's brutally honest assessment on 76ers amid 1-3 start
10/31/2024 01:46 PM
PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers were expected to struggle with Joel Embiid and Paul George out. They were not expected to be bad enough to get nearly run off the floor by the Detroit Pistons, the last winless team in the Eastern Conference, on their home floor. It seems wild that, for the time being, Tobias Harris left his old team for greener pastures.
The 76ers have won just one of their first four games of the 2024-25 season. Their net rating ranks 27th in the NBA and their offensive rating ranks 25th. They have the worst three-point percentage in the league and the fewest assists per game by a wide margin. Although they have been great at crashing the offensive glass and getting to the foul line, Sixers basketball borders on unwatchable far too often.
Tyrese Maxey has weathered the storm and managed to make improvements game by game, reading defenses more proficiently and shooting with more respectable efficiency. His second-half takeover against the Indiana Pacers got Philly its first win but despite playing better right out of the gate against the Pistons, the Sixers couldn't even crack a double-digit deficit until garbage time. Maxey’s 31.5 points per game lead the league but so do his minutes per game of 42.0.
When asked for a common denominator for the Sixers’ losses, Maxey offered transition defense and the need to better sync rebounding efforts as areas that need work. But he went on to explain that "a lot of different pieces" explain Philly’s defeats. None of them, however, are very reassuring.
Tyrese Maxey gives the skinny on each of the Sixers' first 3 losses:
-Bucks: "They made some shots, we messed up some coverages."
-Raptors: "We just didn't play hard enough and didn't play well enough."
-Pistons: "They outplayed us…They out-rebounded us, they out-toughed us." pic.twitter.com/Oxk89OYJqI— Sam DiGiovanni (@BySamDiGiovanni) October 31, 2024
Before facing the Pistons, with a beatdown at the hands of the Toronto Raptors still fresh in their minds, Kelly Oubre Jr. said that the Sixers need to be wary of disrespecting opponents. This team, with the players currently active, is not good enough to smash the bottom feeders of the league and pick up a win simply by showing up. The talent level is way more even, so the games come down to execution and urgency. In both regards, the Sixers have been sorely lacking.
76ers must regroup after starting 2024-25 season with 1-3 record
"Ithoughtwewerespedup. I thoughttheirphysicalitygotus," Nick Nurse said. "Wedidn’tgetalot of screensset.Theywerebreakingthrough,bustingthroughalot of ’em.Wedidn’tputmuchpressureontherimwith our rollthreat. I thought we did turn the corner and had some decent shots at the rim but, again, didn’t finish a high enough rate of those…I think we were hesitant on a lot of stuff."
The 76ers didn't anticipate being without their stars for so long into the start of the season. Even with Embiid’s knee taking a while to get up to speed despite the progress the team says he has been making, Philly anticipated having George ready before he suffered a bone bruise in his knee during the preseason. However, an untimely injury shouldn't catch them off-guard, especially when they’re planning to let them rest plenty in the regular season.
Being overly cautious with Embiid and George, especially at this point in the NBA calendar, is the right call for the Sixers. The playoffs do indeed matter the most and any injury that compromises them should be avoided. However, even with that being a common theme leading into the season, the team doesn't seem prepared for it. The fact that Philly has so many new pieces only partly explains the early struggles.
Maxey said that the 76ers have to "beonourPs and Qsatalltimes" without their stars. "Gotta keep fighting, keep finding ways for guys to get going, guys to get good shots," he said. "We gotta be better on the defensive end. We gotta be better at all aspects. Without them, it’s not much margin for error. Wegottacoverupwhatthey do."
Embiid and George will eventually take the court this season. But they will also probably miss games at the same time again. Figuring out how to compete — let alone win — without them is something they must figure out.
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