Tyrese Maxey Just Proved the 76ers Belong to Him

The Philadelphia 76ers pulled off another comeback victory as they defeated the Charlotte Hornets 109-104.

The 76ers were without two of their best players, Joel Embiid and LeBron James, who sat out due to lingering injuries. This meant that the scoring fell on Tyrese Maxey, and he showed up big time in some very important moments of this game. Jaylen Brown returned from his knee injury and played as best as he could.

Dean Wade and Adem Bona filled in as the starters, and both did the best they could, but the real story here is Maxey and how he carried this team. Maxey dropped 38 points, and he did it in every way possible. Maxey scored in every quarter, and the 76ers needed every single one of them. Through the first half, Maxey had 19 points and was shooting lights out from the three-point line. 

In the second half he scored 14 of his 38 points in the fourth quarter, as it was a back-and-forth game throughout. Most of which saw the Hornets dispelling every effort the 76ers made to come back. If it hadn’t been for Maxey, this team would have been blown out of the water. It’s pretty indicative of how this team is going to win their games. It has to run through Maxey, and there’s no question about it.

When Brown had the ball in his hands, he looked out of sorts. Nearly every attempt he made to try to get to his spot was thwarted by a Hornets’ defender. Now, some of this could be due to his knee injury, but he just looked out of place. There were times where Maxey had to do the same thing and take a player one-on-one. However, more often than not, when he had the ball, the offense moved, and players were able to still find open shots. With Brown, many players stand out of his way as he drives into the paint with reckless abandon. It’s for these reasons that this team won’t be as efficient if Brown is the leading scorer.

It’s still amazing that a player like Maxey is able to maintain his scoring numbers with so many all-stars on this roster. What’s even more impressive is how he has become one of the biggest leaders in the locker room. Maxey can be vocal when it matters, but his abilities on the court are more than enough to show his teammates he’s willing to do anything if it means a victory for the 76ers.