Tyrese Maxey departs, Sixers fall apart in loss to Blazers

Tyrese Maxey left the game with a back contusion and did not return, sending the transition defense into disarray in a loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.

Here's what I saw.

Likes

- Big props to Maxey, who continues to play through discomfort from a sprained finger on his shooting hand. He's worn some nasty shooting numbers lately, ostensibly because of that discomfort But, he's trying to battle through it, regardless of whether it's in the best interest of the team in the long run. He governed the offense out of the gate, playing free in a spread floor.

Philadelphia has done a good job of spacing defenses lately. That allowed Quentin Grimes to get going very early in the win over the Golden State Warriors. It encouraged Maxey to get into the paint out of every ball screen. When Maxey was playing at his best during Embiid's month-long absence with a sprained foot and knee swelling, he was playing the game entirely on his terms. He found his comfort level changing speeds in space, tricking his defender into stepping flatly before zooming by for dribble penetration.

That was on full display in the first quarter, even as the shooting struggles continued. Whether it was cognizance of the fact that he needed to dip into other skill sets to contribute when his shot wasn't there or simply reading the defense, his playmaking was quite good through the first 12 minutes.

He made a handful of simple reads out of the pick-and-roll, capitalizing on Donovan Clingan's slow feet and Duop Reath's lack of size to feed his partner in the two-man game at the rim. The lobs were timely and accurate, too. But Maxey's vision wasn't confined to the programmed reads. He made skip passes to the weak side of the floor too, finding Guerschon Yabusele for a good look at a three.

- I suppose it's time to offer an apology to Andre Drummond, who I apparently wrote off for a rough season too quickly. He's been a different player the last game and a half, getting back to his old ways on the glass and doing a professional job at the rim on both ends.

He's not shutting guards down in isolation or winning the foot race to the basket consistently, but he provided a baseline level of protection in the paint. And when the shot went up, he fought to be the last man standing. His offensive play was maybe as good as it's been all season. He put Clingan through hell, stealing offensive rebounds or tipping the ball out when his teammates missed. When Drummond came down with the rebound himself, he used his body to manufacture space around the basket and calmly go up with the second attempt. To cap a 16-point, 11-rebound first half, Drummond stuffed one on Toumani Camara to draw excitement from the home crowd and his teammates on the bench.

- Speaking of players to whom I owe an apology, never thought Justin Edwards would be as polished as he is on offense already. He's not relegated to 3-and-D duties. Edwards is empowered to attack closeouts and actually try to create some shots for himself out of the drive. He's developed a nice counter package when defenses close off his desired angle, spinning in the other direction without picking up his dribble to keep things flowing. 

Dislikes

- The fairest way to describe what Ricky Council IV is doing on the floor is to say he's trying way too hard. When the ball is in his hands, his body is ready to make a dozen decisions at once. The problem is that his brain is not processing what his physical instincts seem to be. So, he's putting too much gusto on his layups, picking up his dribble in bad spots and hoisting threes that are ill-advised and not within the rhythm of the offense.

I don't know whether it's that he feels pressure to prove himself every chance he gets because he's not a mainstay in the rotation or he has yet to mature enough to realize that slowing down will yield better results than going 100 miles per hour at all times. But, he's playing the game without control, and that makes him hard to trust.

- Maxey took a hard fall attempting an acrobatic layup on a baseline drive and was visibly in significant pain. He eventually walked off the floor and to the locker room without assistance. But he was later ruled out for the rest of the game with a back contusion.

- As purposefully as the Sixers played on offense before Maxey went down, they lost their focus on defense as soon as their best shot creator was out. When they weren't committing live-ball turnovers, they were manufacturing low-quality shots. It did not take much for a young, athletic Blazers team to get out and running. That's all you have to do to put this team in a world of hurt.

- To compound the issue, Philadelphia gave Anfernee Simons far too many open looks from deep. Some of his hits bordered on absurd, falling away from contesting defenders and still having the touch to get the bucket without balance. But there were miscommunications on screens. Someone should've been in his space at all times on ball screens. The Sixers do too much backing away on the screen, unsure of whether to tag the roller or take the ball-handler. When a guy heats up like that, you have to break your scheme and commit to something simple. Whittle down your options out of the screen so that there's not much room for miscommunication. That's on the players for being so fundamentally unsound that they get confused by a simple ball screen. But it's also on Nick Nurse for continuing to let the same things bite this team in the ass. 

- Edwards rolled his ankle late in the game and hopped to the sideline in pain before falling to the deck. He eventually walked off, but it certainly did not look good.

Spare thoughts

- The Dave Zinkoff introducing Dr. J impersonation bit is so tired and bad every time. Let's think of something else here.

The Sixers (21-39) will visit the Minnesota Timberwolves (33-29) on Tuesday. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m., Eastern time. You can catch the action on NBC Sports Philadelphia Plus.

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