How Tyrese Maxey’s uptick in rebounds, steals benefits his scoring

PHILADELPHIA — Tyrese Maxey is setting new career highs in rebounds and steals per game this season. The Philadelphia 76ers guard has shown his improved statistical output over the past few games, recording his first triple-double and, more recently, approaching one as Maxey led a wild, 111-106 win over the San Antonio Spurs.

Maxey averages 3.9 rebounds per game, only a slight uptick from last season, and 2.0 steals per game, a mark well above his previous career high. The 76ers need him to lead the way on offense whenever Joel Embiid is sidelined for, say, a mid-game ejection. Defensive rebounds and steals are one-way tickets to improved output on the other end.

“Without Joel, a lot of teams try to load up on me and sometimes trap,” Maxey said. “[Nick] Nurse has been on me about attacking early, attacking in transition. The ways I could do that [are] getting defensive rebounds and getting steals. So I don’t know if you’ve seen, I’ve been trying to get a lot more rebounds so I can push the ball and get out quicker and just play in the open space and get my teammates involved as well during that.”

Maxey racking up more steals has been a part of the 76ers’ increased attention to forcing turnovers, a defensive scheme that helps them overcome their lack of rim protection and size when Embiid sits. But a huge part of his performance against San Antonio — 32 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, three steals — was simply getting the ball as often as he could and going right to work.

Tyrese Maxey’s rebounds, steals help 76ers defeat Spurs

During training camp, the Sixers introduced a slogan, “The Ball Wins.” As simple as can be in its message, the team has increasingly focused on winning the possession battle. Tyrese Maxey explained that not only do rebounds and steals help that goal, but they also get him the ball in easier situations to score.

Maxey has the speed to go coast to coast before defenders can get back. A fortuitous bounce from a rebound gifted him a fast break that he finished himself. Russell Westbrook showed how a guard getting a rebound and starting the possession in that instant can be better than a big rebounding and passing it to a guard. Although Maxey is certainly not prime Russ, he’s ripped a page out of that book and followed it to the letter.

Maxey getting up the court before Victor Wembanyama meant that the Spurs had to protect against drives harder. Especially against a speedster like Maxey, the defense would rather keep the ball in front. Harrison Barnes backs up further behind the arc to contain Maxey. But all that does is leave room for No. 0 to launch from deep.

When Maxey brings the ball up, all eyes are on him. This means that players without eyeballs on them can run down the lane with less resistance, as Guerschon Yabusele did in the second quarter.

Pushing the tempo creates advantages when the possession goes deeper into the shot clock, too. Maxey getting up the court quickly draws Julian Champagnie to him for long enough to make his closeout back to his man (Kyle Lowry) harder to pull off. Lowry’s drive ignites ball movement that ends in a triple for Caleb Martin. Even if Maxey didn’t end up making the last pass before the bucket, this pristine possession started with him.

In the midst of a dominant fourth-quarter stretch, Maxey picked off a pass and took it right to the cup. It served as the exclamation point on his performance, which was wrapped up nicely with a dagger three-pointer that secured the 76ers’ win.

Fortunately, the 76ers have Embiid healthy. Maxey will have an easier time creating advantages and making shots when the big man is there to help him. But he’s also learning how to win on the margins, one of the best developments of the Sixers going 7-3 in their last 10 games.