Tyrese Maxey opens up on balancing scoring, distributing for Sixers
Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey is still understanding how to truly play point guard in this league. He has played the position his entire life, but he is more of a scoring guard at this point.
However, there has been a quiet development within his game recently. He has two consecutive games where he had 10 assists in one game and followed it up with seven assists in the second game. That is where Maxey has grown in his development.
On the flip side, coach Doc Rivers and assistant Sam Cassell are still empowering him to get into the paint and make an impact with his scoring as well. That is a tough balance for the young guard to strike.
“Sam is always on me about knowing when to shoot and when to pass,” said Maxey. “He says ‘you’ve got the hardest job in the league. You play with Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris, you know? Guys who need the ball, but we also need you to score. Need you to be yourself, but we also need you to get them involved. It’s gonna be tough, but we believe in you. So, just get in the paint. Create for yourself, create for others.’”
Maxey has to be able to just go with the flow of the game and be able to understand what is needed on certain nights. It even goes from play to play sometimes for him to realize that he needs to move the ball while also getting into a scoring groove as well.
“You kinda just figure it out in the flow of the game,” said Maxey. “Sometimes, Jo has it going a lot of times to where we try to feed him until it’s not working anymore and sometimes Seth has it going and different guys like that so sometimes when a play breaks down, you have to call a ball screen and get into the paint and either score or make a play for somebody else.”
Some of that can be tough for any point guard to handle let alone a 21-year old who is starting full time for the first time in his career. Maxey is also filling in for Ben Simmons as that saga continues in this season.
“I wouldn’t say it’s tough, I just try to manage it,” he explained. “At the end of the day, I just want to do whatever it takes to help us win so if it means I need to be more aggressive and score the ball, then that’s what I’m gonna do. Sometimes, it means I need to go out there and have multiple assists and just not be as aggressive and shoot less shots and try to get my teammates involved. That’s the ultimate goal is to win.”
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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