The Philadelphia 76ers are well on their way to getting swept cleanly by the New York Knicks. No team has ever come back from a 0-3 deficit in the playoffs, and from the looks of it, they do not seem to have what it takes to make history. One major reason why is that their opponents appear to have figured out how to make Tyrese Maxey look like a second-rate star.
Through Game 3, Maxey has struggled mightily against the Knicks, averaging just 18.7 points and five assists per outing on 45.5 percent shooting from the field, which includes a measly 16.7 percent success rate from beyond the arc. If anything, New York has basically forced Philly into one, big realization which has already been brewing –– that Maxey is still not capable of being a viable No. 1 option on a real championship aspirant.
The Knicks have made a deliberate effort to slow down Joel Embiid and Maxey, forcing the 76ers to rely more on their other troika of starters in Paul George, VJ Edgecombe, and Kelly Oubre Jr. Knowing fully well that Philly basically has no presence in their second unit at this juncture, they persisted on slowing down their two main gunners, which worked particularly well against Maxey.
The 76ers are learning a harsh Tyrese Maxey lesson thanks to the Knicks
Without Maxey, the 76ers would not even make the play-in tournament. He was the leading minutes-getter in the league all season long, and there is a good reason why. After all, he was fifth among all players in points per game, tallying 28.3 markers a night for Philly. His growth into the nominal alpha on the team was flat-out inarguable.
Now, the next step for him is to be good enough that teams will not be able to game-plan to take him out of his element that easily. Of course, that comes with more experience in the playoffs as someone who gets a huge chunk of the defensive attention. But the tough part for him is also finding out a way to impact the game outside of scoring, which is admittedly his weak point for now.
Maxey does not really have a standout skill when he is not shooting the ball well or scoring voluminously. His playmaking has improved compared to seasons past, but he is not a playmaking savant (and the 76ers do not view him as such). He is also far from a standout piece on the defensive end.
For now, Tyrese Maxey is still a Robin to Joel Embiid's Batman, which is ultimately okay. But having said that, there is no guarantee that he will eventually be able to entrench himself in the latter billing, and even if he does, it might not translate into meaningful success in the playoffs.