The changes brought about by Harden's arrival at the 76ers are visible to the naked eye, and not only Embiid has benefited, but Maxi is also one of them. Since the 76ers completed the James Harden trade, Teres Maxie has averaged 26.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.0 steals per game, shooting 65 percent from the field, 70 percent from three-point range and 86 percent from the free throws. Maxie was transferred to the starters this season due to Simmons' inability to play, averaging 17.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game in 35.6 minutes, shooting 48.3% from the field and 42.3% from three-point range, while he was only a first-round 21st pick and had played the NBA for two years at the age of 21.
Maxy came to the 76ers should be thanks to the Thunder's Muscara, if it were not for Muscala's magical kill, maybe Maxi would now be in the talented Thunder, on August 13, 2020, Muscara used a killer ball to help the Thunder defeat the Heat, which also directly led to the Thunder's first 20 pick protection of the first round of the drop meaning to get out of protection, had to give this sign to the 76ers, and Maxi came here by mistake. Think about it, if Maxie was selected by the Thunder with the 20th pick in the first round, maybe his career would not be so lucky, the Thunder are determined to rebuild, and there are a lot of young people in the team waiting to get the opportunity, it is very likely that Maxi will still sit on the cold bench now, and Maxi who came to Philadelphia became one of the most important rotation players in the team, and he relied on his own efforts to let the coach see the potential he could tap.
In the second season of his career, due to the conflict between Simmons and management, Maxi became the player who replaced Simmons, he could organize, he could score, he could defend, and before Harden arrived, the combination of Maxi, Embiid, and Curry Jr. helped the team perform well, especially in Embiid's absence, Maxi performed even better, in Embiid's absence, the 21-year-old Maxi averaged 23.7 points, 4.6 assists and 0.7 turnovers per game. And when Embiid returns, he can also adapt well to Embiid, and it is precisely because of Maxi's excellent performance that the team has always refused to join Maxi as a chip in the deal negotiations with the Nets, and this is not the first time That Maximi has received such treatment. Philadelphia was intent on bringing the brilliant ball carrier with the Rockets when they wanted to leave, but the Rockets asked for the addition of Maxie in the chips, and eventually the 76ers miscarried the deal because they were really reluctant to send Maxie.
And Harden's arrival has made Maxy's performance to a higher level, although The arrival of Harden has reduced Maxi's ball possession, but his overall efficiency is rising, Maxi himself is a breakthrough hand, last season's Maxi can complete 13.5 breakthroughs every 36 minutes, ranking fourth in the same rookie, and the only breakthroughs than him are Gillian Hayes, Ramello Bauer and Cole Anthony. Judging from his college playing style, you will also find that In fact, Maxie is more suitable for no ball, he is more like a scorer than a organizer with the ball in his hand, and when he matches Maxy with a passer, he can better complete the finish. Maxie is a strong two-legged defender himself, but at 0-3 feet he has a 64.9 percent shooting percentage, he has a variety of finishing methods to complete the scoring, and training in the offseason has improved his shooting, and now Maxi is no better than the first season, and his three points have become a conventional weapon.
Of course, in addition to Maxie's own improvement, this is also Harden's best point, he has the ability to stimulate the state of his teammates, in the Nets Mills and Harden's excellent performance, part of the credit comes from Harden, in Mills almost 200 sports goals, 1/4 of them are direct assists from Harden. Now Harden's departure is directly affected by Mills, and now it is more difficult for Mills to play a game with 20+ points, and now Mills averages only 8 points per game, and the shooting rate has dropped to 29.8% and 31% respectively. Looking at Maxi and Embiid now, Maxi has reduced organizational pressure, he is more focused on no-ball, and the three-pointer is gradually improving. Not to mention Embiid, Harden and Embiid have become the most fearsome duo on the job, and in the words of Embiid to describe the transformation brought by Harden today, Embiid said: "I have never had such a big vacancy in my life, Harden has created opportunities for all of us." ”
Although Maxi has always said that he does not care about the name, Maxi said: "I just play to help the team, I don't care about the big three and the big two, we are a whole." As long as we move in the same direction, we will continue to improve every day. "But what can be seen is that Maxi has grown into a starting-level player in the whole team, and he is only 21 years old, and he can learn more experience and skills around Harden, especially Harden's blocking and dismantling cooperation, which is Harden's killer skill, and Maxi can also master it little by little, gradually becoming the main control of the team after Harden's exit, hasn't Maxy already started to play a retreat step three-pointer on the court? Maybe in the future we will see Maxi at the All-Star Game, and now he will become the most important player on Philadelphia's championship road.
Look at harden's influence in Philadelphia, he has raised the team to a whole new level, and Embiid will play even better, while the Nets got Simmons has not played for the team until now, his agent Rich Paul revealed to him that Simmons may not be able to return in March, Simmons's back injury has been repeated, so it seems that this deal Philadelphia has made a lot of money, even if Simmons returns, we don't know what kind of chemistry he will have with Durant and Irving. And Harden has at least completed a seamless connection on the team, now he just needs to stay healthy, and Philadelphia will gradually go to the top.