Sixers rookie guard Tyrese Maxey assesses his first playoff appearance
The 2020-21 season has been a wild ride for Philadelphia 76ers rookie Tyrese Maxey. He was drafted in November, he was on the court making his NBA debut a month later in December, he played in a lot of empty arenas due to the state of the pandemic, and has been in and out of the rotation since then while trying to find his footing in the league.
Luckily, the young man out of Kentucky has a maniacal work ethic and he has continued to improve on both ends of the floor. He is now experiencing his first playoff run on a team that has a real shot at winning a title and he is now firmly in the rotation in the team’s Round 1 series with the Washington Wizards.
“I think it’s pretty much exactly what I expected,” Maxey said. “We’re blessed to have fans come back in the building so we can see the crowds. The home crowd at Wells Fargo and then the hostile crowd here in the Wizards arena so it’s been great.”
In the playoffs, Maxey has not really blinked in his first playoff appearance. He is averaging 5.7 points and 1.3 assists and he has been able to combat Washington’s speed when they go to Raul Neto and Ish Smith off their bench.
“It’s been cool to see a chess match between the coaches,” Maxey added. “How we mixed up schemes and how we change things game by game, and it’s crazy playing the same opponent, over and over and over again. It’s pretty fun.”
The Sixers will be looking to close out the Wizards on Monday in Game 4 from Capital One Arena in Washington D.C.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
