DETROIT — Some days it’s done with boundless energy and a big smile, other days it’s done by scrutinizing teammates after a tough loss.
But on a snowy Saturday morning in Detroit, Tyrese Maxey sang old-school Motown tunes to fuel up for the Philadelphia 76ers shootaround. The music was great and Maxey, who was only born in 2000, some thirty years after Motown’s heyday, sounded as if the hits had been released yesterday.
“My grandmothers, man,” he said.
There’s a maturity in Maxey that belies the energy, that accepts responsibility for the 76ers’ fate even though no one in their right mind would dare say he’s not holding up his end of the bargain.
That evening, Paul George made his return after a three-match absence; his debut in Philadelphia was riddled with injuries that sapped the excitement the franchise started the season with. Joel Embiid missed Saturday’s game, as he has done so many others, because of the knee problems that have haunted his career and will likely continue to do so as he moves deeper into his 30s.
That leaves Maxey as the lone star trying to keep the 76ers afloat, as only the Washington Wizards, New Orleans Pelicans and Utah Jazz have worse records so far.
Maxey would be part of a top-heavy, well-constructed unit, a sonic change in direction from the single-minded George and the floundering Embiid. Now he moves to the top of the scouting report every night.
“I wouldn’t say I would end up in anything,” Maxey told Yahoo Sports. “Last year I had a special season, so I knew I was at the top after Joel.” But Maxey acknowledges he’ll have to play a different way when Embiid and George aren’t in the lineup, while also adjusting to new guys on the roster. “So we have to figure out how we want to play, who fits well with who. That takes time.”
But it gets late very early for the 76ers. In their next eight games, four will play against powerful teams: the surprising Orlando Magic (twice), the league-leading Cleveland Cavaliers and the champion Boston Celtics on Christmas Day.
“I mean, we can’t go much further (down) than we are now,” Maxey said. “Honestly, the only path we can take is up. It will be up to us. I think we’ve gotten better, man. We really fought in the last three games.”
That’s the bar now, just compete, at least until the 76ers figure out how to put things together with the Embiid situation still seemingly in flux. The minus-7 point differential per night equates to a 4-14 record, and when the frustration reached a turning point two weeks ago, when the 76ers blew a 19-point lead and lost by 17 to Miami, it was Maxey who spoke during an impromptu team meeting.
According to sources, the 24-year-old guard challenged Embiid to be on time and take this season as seriously as expectations require. Maybe it should have been head coach Nick Nurse or team president Daryl Morey, but Maxey felt forced.
“I feel like the reason why when I say things it really only travels is because I work extremely hard,” Maxey said. “I work really hard, man. Everything I say comes from a good place. All I want is to win. To be honest, nothing else interests me. All the individual accolades, all those other things, they don’t mean anything to me if we don’t win.”
Maxey led the league in minutes per game before suffering a hamstring injury against the Clippers in Los Angeles on November 6. Naturally, his efficiency was affected by the extra load, so when he returned, the 76ers placed a minutes restriction on him and “That didn’t sit well with me,” Maxey said.
“As much as I can play, I’ll play,” Maxey said. “I try to do other things, not on match days. I have to scale back a little bit just because I want to play on the floor when it matters. I’m always going to give my best 110 percent.”
His first game on November 20 was difficult, but in the four games after that, production was not an issue. After talking the talk, he walked the walk (27.5 points on 47-50-92 splits with 6.3 assists and 3.3 steals).
“It’s his team,” 76ers center Andre Drummond told Yahoo Sports before amending his statement. “His and Joel’s team. They’ve been here the longest and have boosted this team in the years they’ve been here. It’s good to see our point guard being vocal. Tyrese is not one to say much, he does it in his play. So it’s cool to hear him say certain things to certain guys and make demands. He also makes demands on me. He wants the next guy to be great.”
Even if those demands are placed on Embiid, the cornerstone of the franchise. Drummond said Maxey doesn’t hesitate to stop practice and correct teammates when something isn’t done right.
“The maturity has been huge. He’s much noisier. He says what he thinks,” Drummond said. “It was great to see his growth as a leader.”
It’s important to remember that Maxey, who signed his rookie scale extension this summer, waited a full year so the 76ers could free up salary cap space to sign George away from the Clippers. He would have been well within his rights to secure his own future and not risk getting hurt or anything else that might arise in the meantime.
Even though it’s a little weird to have a player make that sacrifice in real time, it certainly gives his words a lot more weight in the locker room. So while he makes sure to keep everyone else’s spirits high, Maxey also has to keep his cup full.
“Honestly, I’m blessed now. I’m so happy to be playing basketball,” Maxey said. “The few weeks I couldn’t play, I was down. I was upset. Because that hurts, man, you don’t get to go out there with your teammates and go to war with them and help them win games.
“So you never hear me complain. Man, I always try to bring positive energy and have fun while I’m doing it.”
