Tyrese Maxey (23 points, nine rebounds, eight assists in Game 2) has been electric during the Sixers’ first two games of this year’s postseason.
Maxey recorded 61 points, 13 boards, and 10 assists during the pair of home playoff tilts, which makes him the fifth player aged 21-or-younger with at least 60 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists over two consecutive playoff games to accomplish that feat (Luka Doncic, LeBron James, Tracy McGrady, Magic Johnson).
Coach Doc Rivers credits the point guard’s ability to make in-game adjustments for his success thus far.
“I told him [Tyrese Maxey] when we took him out and put him back in, I said, ‘listen, they’re crowding you a little bit, but you’re not aggressive at all. And, let’s get back to being you. You belong, just go play.’ And he did that from that point on,” Rivers told the media in Philadelphia following the Sixers’ 112-97 win over the Raptors.
Maxey and teammate James Harden continue to have great on-court chemistry and it’s allowing the Sixers to win the minutes where Joel Embiid isn’t playing.
“They’ve just been doing a great job of playing with pace and looking for matchups,” Embiid explained after Game 2. “Favorable matchups. To attack. Just playing the game with each other. Whether it’s Tyrese [Maxey] attacking or James [Harden] going one on one with a favorable matchup and finding guys that way too. I think it’s been great. That’s what we all need all series and for the future too.”
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