On April 19, Beijing time, the NBA playoffs continued, the 76ers won the Raptors again at home 112-97, the big score was 2-0 leading; the first quarter of this battle was still difficult for the two sides to score up and down, the second quarter of the 76ers played a wave of 35-19, directly opened the point difference, at the end of the third quarter, the 76ers have led 24 points at 95-71, and there is no suspense in the victory or defeat.
In this game, the 76ers " Big Three" performed really well:
Embiid, 9-of-16, had 31 points and 11 rebounds
Harden, 3 of 9, had 14 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists
— Harris, 7-of-11, had 20 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks
Among them, Embiid took over the game in the first quarter, scoring 19 points in a single quarter, and Harden also had 14 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists in the first half, and there is no doubt that these two are the most critical figures for the 76ers to achieve 2-0.
However, as far as the past two games are concerned, the performance of 76ers young Maxi is also completely "giant":
- G1, 14 of 21, had 38 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 0 turnovers
- G2, 8 of 11, had 23 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists in a quasi-triple-double
In the two games, Maxi scored a total of 61 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists, the first in the scoring team, the second in the assist team, and the third in the rebounding team, with plus-minus +20 and +22 respectively.
This season's Maxi, the naked eye can see the rise in the ball.
Last season, Maxi was also a substitute, playing 61 games, only starting in eight games, averaging only 8.0 points, 1.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game, shooting 46.2%/30.1%/87.1% of the three shots, respectively.
This season, because Simmons is not around, Maxi has been given plenty of opportunities, playing in 75 games for the 76ers, including 74 starts, averaging 17.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game — almost doubling from last year, shooting 48.5%/42.7%/86.6% and shooting 59.4% from the field.
Maxie's progress could have been awarded the fastest-improving player, but because the competition for this award was so fierce this season, he was not even a top three candidate.
It should be said that after Harden's arrival, Maxi's score not only did not decrease, but also increased to 18.5 points, and the shooting percentage reached 51.1%, three-point shooting rate reached 46.2%, and the true shooting rate increased to 64.3%.
Maxie's advantage is that he is very fast, has the ability to attack the frame, has an advantage in stature and strength at the back, and plays very passionately, last season, Maxi was still a rookie, his shooting is still weak, but in just one offseason, he has practiced his shooting - this point, Simmons spent many years still in place.
It's hard to imagine that Maxi is only 21 years old.
One statistic is that Maxi (21 years old and 166 days) won "61+13+10" in these two playoff games, and he became the fifth player in NBA history to get "60+10+10" in two consecutive playoff games before the age of 22, the previous four were Magic, Maddy, James, and Doncic, all of which were not simple.
Speaking of the big, Maxi is expected to become the third best player in the class of 2020 except for Edwards and three goals, and his pick is only 21 picks, not even the lottery show, after today's game, Perkins said: "In addition to the general managers of the Hornets and Timberwolves, how many teams need to be discussed, Masik is really 21 picks to be selected?" ”
Looking at the playoffs, you probably know why in the previous Harden deal, the 76ers were reluctant to send Maxy away - The potential in Maxie can be said to be All-Star level, if he can continue to grow, then the 76ers will not only have a strong competitiveness this year, but the next few years.
Of course, it's only two games, because of Harden and Embiid, and the Raptors haven't made more defensive adjustments to Maxy, but, like we said, Maxie is only 21 years old, he's only in second grade, at this age, what's there to be afraid of?