Mike Watters
Everyone knew Tyrese Maxey was making a joke. Anything to avoid giving away real trade secrets.
"I think the biggest thing for me is I changed my hair and I can see now. I couldn't see before," Maxey said with a grin on the second day of training camp in the Bahamas.
"So, if I got into the paint, I was shooting it. Now, the hair is not in my face, so I can see."
Some laughed, some smiled.
It was a witty answer to a question about leveraging his speed to make passes rather than to score.
And yet, maybe he was only half joking.
The Sixers registered a pace of 101.17 in the preseason. They finished last season with a pace of 98.17.
The sample sizes are incomparable. The differences in context matter a great deal since Joel Embiid did not log a single minute of preseason action. You're inherently playing slower when that guy is on the floor.
But, there is a reason the Sixers felt and were faster up the floor in the four preseason games Tyrese Maxey played.
Maxey had his head up, surveying the floor. Everyone ran with him, hoping that he would reward them for keeping up.
Maxey racked up 17 assists against seven turnovers across four preseason games. A ratio of 2.43:1.
The assist-to-turnover ratio for his career is roughly 3.42:1. Last season, when the highest usage of his career to date was met with his first All-Star nod and the Most Improved Player award, the ratio was approximately 3.65:1.
He took more risks this preseason than perhaps ever before, acting on reads to the weak side of the floor.
Taking risks, and being willing to live with turnovers, is a necessary step in Maxey's growth. It's the only means to his developing into a true point guard.
Plays like this will happen. It's part of stepping out of your comfort zone as a playmaker:
Maxey attacks baseline to force box rotation, bounce pass gets picked off vs Nets - 10/16/24 pic.twitter.com/Ywi1WHbXxl
— Austin Krell’s Sixers Film Room (@AKFilmRoom76) October 18, 2024
But, it wasn't just reads like the one above.
Maxey's head was up in transition. He let his eyes dictate the best decision:
Maxey transition lob in 3v1 vs Nets - 10/16/24 pic.twitter.com/4z5f6TpzzL
— Austin Krell’s Sixers Film Room (@AKFilmRoom76) October 18, 2024
Sometimes, it's as simple as having numbers. The defender turns his entire body when the pass is made, opening a runway for Maxey's partners in the play.
It's an easy decision even if it unfolds quickly. All he has to do is watch Cam Johnson react to the first pass and the decision is basically made for him.
His vision wasn't exclusive to transition play. Maxey kept his eyes peeled even when defenses had chances to set themselves:
Maxey sees Cam Thomas asleep and lifted, KJ Martin goes back door for lob vs Nets - 10/16/24 pic.twitter.com/JNauIY9eNe
— Austin Krell’s Sixers Film Room (@AKFilmRoom76) October 18, 2024
"He was telling me he was going to throw it. He was just like, 'I'm going to throw it by the hoop. Wherever it is, go get it'. So, I always tell him I'm running and he's looking for me and stuff like that," KJ Martin said after the Sixers' preseason victory over the Brooklyn Nets last Wednesday.
"So, he told me today, 'We're going to get one of those every single game, just transition and defenses kind of lolly-gagging back and back-pedaling'. Just keep running and he said he's going to get it to me."
Maxey's feel for the lob has progressed so well that the Sixers are unlocking it out of basic halfcourt actions:
Maxey Chicago action (pin-down into DHO) gets Drummond a lob vs Hawks - 10/14/24 pic.twitter.com/4fLDRxY3hL
— Austin Krell’s Sixers Film Room (@AKFilmRoom76) October 18, 2024
He's leveraging his downhill pace to create rim pressure. Defenses bend as far as they can until he forces them to break in an effort to contain the ball. That's when he has them where he wants them, though. Just throw it up there and someone will get it.
"I have some athletic friends. Not athletic like KJ Martin and Andre Drummond athletic. So, I didn't get to work on lobs a lot. But, I had a few good lobs to Andre so far. I had a good one to KJ [on Wednesday, October 2]," Maxey told reporters on the second day of training camp.
"Just that connection, knowing what guys like to do, you know what I'm saying? KJ cuts back door, throw it up, just figure it out. He'll go up there and get it. But, honestly, the biggest thing for me is just making reads when I get into the paint.
Spraying the ball out, finding guys, finding ways to get open threes. I mean, the league and the shot quality right now, you got to be able to shoot threes and make threes. I think we'll be able to do that and get good shots by doing it."
So, maybe he was joking about the hair. But, maybe he wasn't. The Sixers will laugh all day long if it means Maxey has taken another leap.
