Maxey’s shooting earning him a long look
PHILADELPHIA » The numbers said it was real. The draft, and the way it played out, indicated it was an issue. Tyrese Maxey said it was wrong. Doc Rivers gave it another word.
“A narrative,” the 76ers’ coach said Monday, after a 118-101 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.
The issue, the problem or the narrative was that Maxey was about to parade from Kentucky to the NBA without the ability to shoot from distance. The 6-3 shooting guard was 33-for-113, a 29.2 percentage, from behind the shorter college 3-point line. The Sixers insisted it was a false result from limited play. But given the fashion that successful professional basketball has come to be played from the backcourt, that math from Maxey’s one season of college basketball left the Sixers with a certain burden of proof after making him the 21st overall pick in the last draft.
But as the Sixers improved to 6-1 Monday, Maxey connected on two of his three 3-point attempts in 21:13, scoring 11 points. That followed his 1-for-2 distance shooting in a Saturday victory over the Hornets, and it began to lessen the stress of the 0-for-5 start to his pro career.
“The narrative out there is that the reason he went down in the draft was that people didn’t think he could shoot,” Rivers said. “I haven’t seen a lick of that. I think he’s an excellent shooter. And he’ll just keep getting better.”
With closed practices, a truncated preseason and only seven regular-season games of evidence, the question of Maxey’s 3-point abilities remains open. What is not in debate, though, is that Maxey’s teammates believe in his work ethic and that his pure shooting stroke should be effective in the NBA.
“The first thing he told when me came off the court tonight was, ‘I shot it,’” Joel Embiid said. “I have been telling him to shoot it every single time. Just shoot it, especially when you are wide open. Let it fly. If you miss, who cares? If you make it, good.
“So then you just go onto the next shot. He has been doing a great job just coming in every single day. He wants to learn. He does his job.”
Early as it is in both the season and in Rivers’ program, Maxey’s ultimate role remains unclear. Indications are growing, though, that he is edging ahead of Matisse Thybulle in a battle for minutes. Thybulle, a cut-above defender, also entered the NBA with questions about his shooting.
Monday, Maxey was active in all phases, shooting 4-for10 with two assists and a highlight steal, stripping fellow Kentucky product Malik Monk near midcourt and bursting in for a layup.
His speed, defense and general basketball sense were certain to leave him somewhere high in the last draft. But if he shoots as he did against Charlotte, he can be a vital component to what is unfolding as a special Sixers season.
“I’m just trying to help the team,” Maxey said. “That’s my goal every single time I step on the court. But as far as shooting, I work extremely hard. Every single day I am in the gym multiple times. I am making a lot of shots. And I have confidence in myself.”
So does the man who will decide who plays, when, and for how long.
“Once he’s ready and takes his shot, he’s good,” Rivers said. “He has great speed. He is going to be a terrific player for us.
“We are very lucky that he found us.”