Tyrese Maxey Has A Chance To Write A New Playoff Chapter

If there has ever been a young athlete that captured the imagination and wild fan support in Philadelphia near the top of the list has to be Tyrese Maxey! The million dollar smile with the relentless hustle and speedy game, Tyrese exemplifies almost everything we love in our athletes.

To really cement a legacy and to show that you are deserving of a huge max contract this summer it is essential that he does change one narrative. It’s time for Maxey to be the Robin to the Embiid Batman this time around. The last two Springs James Harden was in Philly and that gave Tyrese cover for his less than sterling playoff performances. Now it’s his moment to shine and boy is it needed!

Tyrese in 35 career playoff games averages 15 points a game. Thats not a huge drop off but he averages around 21 ppg in the regular season in his career. In his 11 playoff games in the 2023 playoffs vs Brooklyn and Boston Tyrese scored below his season average in six of those games.

In his 12 playoff games in the 2022 playoffs vs Toronto and Miami he scored below his season average in six of those games.

Eric Spoelstra seems to have a way of making Maxey disappear. As the 76ers tried to play their way into the playoffs the Miami Heat had a strategy that once again caused Tyrese to struggle. Maxey attempted just six three pointers and only got one to splash down.

The Miami zone defense seemed to either confuse him or frustrate him. He had uncharacteristic turnovers and scored only 19 points. That was around 7 points below his seasonal average.

Tyrese only had 12 games in 70 starts in 2023-24 where he scored less than 19 points. The Miami performance was not his shining moment. He shouldn’t be the only target of critique. When Embiid and Maxey only combine for 42 points you can’t expect to win many playoff games.

The 76ers are -122 favorites to defeat the Knicks in their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series. For a team that hasn’t been out of the second round since 2001 this is a very difficult road to navigate. I’m expecting we finally will get to see Playoff Tyrese take the stage.

Despite a tumultuous season, this Sixers team that Daryl Morey put together might be their best chance to win in a while. If they can get through he Play-In tournament, they have a chance to go deeper than they ever have, especially with a healthy Joel Embiid.

The man behind this roster, Daryl Morey, joined Mid-Days with bob Cooney earlier today.

Despite being the 7-seed, and having to tangle with the the play-in tournament, vibes around the team seem to be high. They enter the playoffs on an 8-game winning streak, thanks mostly to the return of Joel Embiid.

The reigning MVP was playing the best basketball of his career before injuring his meniscus in January. When he went out, the team fell apart. They went from comfortably in the 3-seed, to hanging for their lives. And there was concern Embiid would never return at all.

But with only a few weeks left, Embiid made his triumphant return. Suddenly we saw the team that had people so excited earlier in the season.

All of that said, the Play-In Tournament is tricky. You don't get a series against the Heat, you get 1 game. And Anything can happen in 1 game.

You get some wiggle room, in that if you lose you still get a chance at redemption vs whoever wins the 9-10 game. But even if you win that, it means you get the Celtics in the 1st round, instead of the Knicks. Not exactly ideal.

Morey likes his team's chances though. He joined Bob Cooney, and guest host Amy Fadool, on today's Mid-Day show. What did he say? Does he have any concerns? How far does he think his team can go?