When the 76ers closed a trade with the Nets in exchange for James Harden before the deadline, the focus was on how the All-Star point guard paired up with the team's MVP candidate, Joel Embiid. Few people think about how this will affect Tyrese-Maxi.
Because Ben Simmons was in trouble and refused to play before the trade, the 76ers had to push Maxie, who was not yet 21 years old before the start of the season, to the start, but they were also pleasantly surprised:
Before Harden officially joined the team, the second-year rookie became the team's most reliable outside offensive launch point, averaging 16.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game, shooting 46.9% from the field, 39% accuracy outside the three-point line, and as a young point guard, he averaged only 1.2 turnovers per game and an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.93!
Maxi's performance on the No. 1 spot was so good that when the 76ers had a chance to get an MVP-caliber star point guard, they still couldn't think about how the deal might affect their young players. Because at the moment, their most important goal is not to cultivate new talents, but to try to seize embiid's peak and impact the championship.
The 76ers believed that Harden could be the perfect partner for Embiid, but they did not expect that this deal would also complete The Maxi, who theoretically has a position conflict with Harden.
In the first four games hardened after the All-Star season, Harden officially began playing for the 76ers, and he and Embiid's super duo combined to score 56.8 points per game and lead the team to four consecutive wins. But the real surprise of the 76ers came from Maxi — with his two superstar teammates, he still averaged 26.8 points per game in all four games, shooting 64.9 percent from the field and shooting 14-of-20 from beyond the three-point line!
As an outside player, the shooting rate of close to 65% cannot be maintained forever, but Maxi still proves with actual performance that even if the role shrinks, he can still maintain and even increase his own value by improving the efficiency of the game.
According to statistics: after the All-Star (that is, after Harden officially joined the team), Maxi's average playing time dropped from 35 minutes and 36 seconds to 34 minutes and 46 seconds, the average number of shots per game dropped from 13.4 to 12.9, and the average number of touches per game dropped from 84.8 to only 65.5.
However, within the limited range of roles, Maxi became more determined, shooting 52.3% from the field, 48% from three-point range, and the true shooting rate soared from 56.7% before the All-Star to 68.0% after the All-Star! So even as rebounds and assists declined, his average of 16.9 points per game rose to 19.5!
The improvement in outside projection performance is a key reason for Maxi's outbreak, and in his rookie season, his three-point shooting rate was only 30.1%, and this season's 42.7% performance is already the level of elite shooters.
In addition, speed is still Maxie's most important killing weapon, and with Embiid and Harden's restraint on the defense, the impact of his sudden acceleration on the basket has become more difficult to prevent.
He will also see the opportunity to step on the throttle to the end during the offensive and defensive conversion process and complete the single-player fast attack. And this point forms a very important supplement to the relatively calm offensive rhythm of Harden and Embiid.
Recently, a tweet by NBA analyst Kirk Goldsberry revealed the "leading scorers" of the NBA's offensive zones this season, with Embiid dominating two zones, but one on the right side of the basket belonged to Maxi, who is less than 1.90 meters tall, which is the best compliment for his sharp right-hand breakthrough.
Maxi is incredibly fast and his personal skills are advancing at a rapid pace, but as a non-lotto show (21st in the first round of 2020), he was able to emerge so quickly and successfully grasp every opportunity that appeared in front of him, because he had a big heart.
Because of the injuries of his main players, Maxi has won eight starters in his rookie season, resulting in an outstanding record of 18.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. In the sixth life-and-death game against the Hawks in the playoffs division semifinals (the 76ers were eliminated after losing 2-3 at the time), when Simmons struggled, Maxi was entrusted with a heavy responsibility, gaining 29 minutes and 28 seconds to play, and finally contributing 16 points and 7 rebounds to help the team drag the series to the seventh.
Today's game, Maxi was once again the key man of the 76ers. In his first career playoff game as a starter, he scored 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting in the first half to help the 76ers take a 21-point lead.
And when the Raptors launched a Jedi counterattack in the third quarter, and recently chased only 11 points, it was Maxie who stepped forward. He hit all six shots in the final 5 minutes of the quarter and scored 17 points! The 76ers re-opened the score and never gave their opponent any hope.
In the whole game, Maxi shot 14 of 21, including 5 of 8 from outside the three-point line, and none of the five free throws missed, setting a new playoff career-high 38 points, only one point away from his career single-game scoring record (including the regular season).
In addition, he also grabbed 4 rebounds, delivered 2 assists, did not make any mistakes, and the team won by 20 points during the game, the best in the game!
Is Maxi a 76er player more important than Harden and Embiid? Of course not! There's a lot of stats to prove it: When Maxie is on the floor with Harden and Embiid at the same time, he's significantly better because he knows how to take advantage of playing with superstars — which will make the defensive pressure on you less.
But at the same time, playing next to superstars will also face great psychological pressure - you must be able to grasp the opportunity of those empty shots, and once you make a mistake, you will be easily criticized and blamed. For a young player, these psychological pressures are often more difficult to bear than the defensive pressure of the opponent.
At this point, Maxi proved himself to be different, as teammate Niang put it: "Really boast about him, he's only 21 years old, he's really doing a really good job." ”
The 76ers' goal is the championship, and Embiid and Harden have been paired from the beginning to compete with O'Neal and Kobe Bryant's supergroup. But neither Harden nor Embiid has proven their real success in the playoffs, and statistically speaking, both of them are significantly worse off in the playoffs than in the regular season.
But the 76ers have an advantage that the Lakers didn't have: In addition to the two superstars, they also have a young guard who averages nearly 20 points per game, and has proven that the bigger the game, the more they can play.
The 76ers are still Harden and Embiid's team, but Maxi, perhaps the most important X-factor for this team, determines how far they can go and whether they can successfully reach the finish line in their hearts.