Ready or Not, It's Tyrese Maxey's Time

PHILADELPHIA — With a gasp and a head shaking side to side, Tyrese Maxey whispered, "Crazy".

He was confronted with the premise that he's the top dog against the Boston Celtics this time around, whereas in the past he'd been an ancillary cast member to Joel Embiid and James Harden.

"Are you calling me old, because that was, like, three years ago?" Maxey joked.

"You kind of are now," the reporter said.

This was the side of Maxey you saw back when his job was simpler. Back when 50-win seasons and playoff berths were customary.

But in the wake of something he'd done for the first time in his career, in the wake of delivering on a season-long promise he'd made, it was time to loosen up a bit.

In May, Maxey made Kyle Lowry a promise during a phone call: Lowry would be back in the playoffs for the final season of his career.

At shootaround on Wednesday, ahead of Philadelphia's Play-In victory over the Orlando Magic, new teammate Dalen Terry approached Maxey.

"Please, bruh, just please. Just get me in there. I've been in the Play-In four years straight," Maxey alleged Terry said.

"I said, 'We're going to the playoffs. So don't worry about it, DT'," Maxey responded.

It means everything to Maxey that he delivered on his promise.

To Lowry. To Terry. To the handful of teammates who've never been to the playoffs before.

"It means everything, man. The way last season went, I just didn't want to have that feeling again. I just challenged myself last summer and I feel like I rose to that challenge. Some injuries in the middle of the season kind of hurt me but we're here now," Maxey told reporters on Wednesday night.

"We're here now. We are in the playoffs and that's what matters. That's what matters most. So it's just a good feeling, man."

But Maxey ended his message making it clear that the goal wasn't just to get to the playoffs.

It's to compete.

It will start with no. 0. He already senses a shift in his mentality.

"Back then, I was still attacking, still being aggressive, but that's a different situation. For me, it's going to be a lot of film the next couple of days. Just a lot of film breakdown. Then, when I get back in the gym probably Friday, just a lot of getting to my spots and where I know I can make shots and where I can get to," Maxey explained.

"And then just reading the game, like, it was a couple plays down the stretch where I got into the paint and I just kicked it. You know what I'm saying? Jumped up and hit [Quentin Grimes] and we got a bucket out of that. Those are the plays that are going to be key. But, yeah, I'mma be ultra aggressive. I want to win, so that's all that matters at the end of the day.

"But you got to go out there and really compete. And we've done it. We've won in Boston early this year. I think we beat them at home once. It'll be fun. I think they're a great team and it's going to be a great challenge for us."

Maxey looked down the court a few times on Wednesday and thought to himself, "Whew, like, Bona's out there, V.J.'s out there, Barlow's out there. That's three guys that I'm older than."

It was a sobering reality check that time is flying.

There was a moment in the Orlando game in which Maxey had to calm Edgecombe down as he expressed his dissatisfaction with officiating.

It was a reminder that his role has changed. Maxey is not the young, fun breath of fresh air anymore. He's a steward of a multi-billion-dollar franchise.

"It's super different, it's super different. But I'm only 25, though. So I'm still young but I guess I've been in the league six years," Maxey said.

"This is my fifth playoffs. So I've had some experience, you know what I mean? I've seen a lot of different things and I'm blessed."

When the ball drops on Sunday afternoon, it'll be a new experience: He's the tone-setter of a playoff team.

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