Maxey snaps out of slump, Gordon gets going, more takeaways from Sixers’ first win

Tyrese Maxey refused to keep struggling, Eric Gordon looked like himself, and more takeaways from the Sixers’ first win of the season over the Pacers.

It’s hard to remember a Sixers offseason that inspired such optimism.

It’s much easier to remember brutal starts to the season.

It was only two years ago that the Sixers opened the season with three consecutive losses. The first two were against East contenders in the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks. The third was against the lowly pre-Wemby Spurs — similar to this past Friday’s loss to what was essentially the Raptors 905.

Tyrese Maxey made sure history did not repeat itself Sunday when he snapped out of his early-season slump and carried the Sixers to a 118-114 overtime win in Indiana, spoiling the Pacers’ home opener.

The team the Sixers beat in 2022-23 to snap their early-season skid? The Pacers.

Here are four takeaways from the Sixers’ first win of the season.

Maxey finds another gear

Maxey had a nightmare first two games of the season. He shot a combined 16-of-54, recording only 49 points on that shot total. Certainly the absences of Joel Embiid and Paul George played a part (and hurt his shot diet), but what was slightly concerning is that Maxey was just missing — not just his normal looks, but wide open ones too.

Sunday started like it was going to be another one of those days. Maxey wasn’t forcing things early and was just 2-of-6 at halftime. The Sixers were very much in the game thanks to the play of newcomers Caleb Martin and Eric Gordon (more on him in a bit).

Maxey came out firing out of the break, but still struggled to find his groove, missing multiple wide-open threes off solid ball movement from his teammates. Past the midway point of the third, Maxey had had enough. He drove right and then hit T.J. McConnell with a Eurostep and rip through before finishing with a pretty lefty teardrop finish.

After the play, which tied the game at 68-68, Maxey was as fired up as we’d seen him since Game 5 in Madison Square Garden.

From there, Maxey looked like Maxey. The three balls began to fall. The drives opened up and the finishes were crisp. Even the middies were starting to roll his way on the rim. He was 2-of-13 from the field before that bucket. He went on to make 12 of his next 19 shots.

He had seven points at the half. He finished the game with 45. He was demonstrably fired up throughout the rest of the contest. He even came up with a massive on-ball block against Andrew Nembhard in the guts of the game. The play was reviewed and called a foul, which by the rules, yeah, sure, Maxey’s follow through gets Nembhard in the face. But it’s dumb and Maxey made a hell of a play.

Maxey had three 50-point games last season, the first being against Indiana. He didn’t quite get there on Sunday, but there will likely be a 50-burger or two in his near future.

Gordon gets going

I find the Eric Gordon discourse fascinating. Yes, he’s 36 and not the player he once was (that player was at times spectacular), but for what the Sixers need, Gordon feels like a fine fit.

There’s no arguing that he struggled in the first two games. He was a combined 2-of-10 for 10 points. Nick Nurse clearly felt Gordon’s ineffectiveness and the veteran guard barely played over 20 minutes in each of the contests against the Bucks and Raptors.

From early on Sunday Gordon looked much better. There were understandable fears about his age and whether he still had the same offensive juice. Against the Pacers, he legitimately steadied things offensively until Maxey found his groove. Gordon scored 12 points in the first half, going 2-of-5 from deep.

Beyond the numbers, Gordon simply looked better in his home state of Indiana.

While Gordon is known for his deep ball, he’s actually a fairly complete player. You don’t want him playing 35 minutes a night and jacking up 20 shots, but he can put the ball on the floor and create at times. He can give a struggling offense a spark like he did Sunday. He’s not an on-ball stopper who is going to handle tough perimeter assignments, but he’s strong and has good off-ball instincts.

If Gordon starts and plays 30-plus minutes a night, I’ll understand fans getting upset. But so far, Nurse seems to be using him properly. When Gordon is cooking, he plays. When he’s not, he sits. He’s a nice option to have when you need a little offensive jolt.

‘The ball wins’

If you hadn’t seen, “the ball wins” has been the Sixers’ motto since training camp. The team has it printed on shirts and it’s all over the practice facility and locker room. They lost to the Knicks in the first round last postseason in large part because New York seemed to come up with every loose ball in a critical spot. It’s not just a motto either — Daryl Morey acquired players who win the ball often.

After George, Caleb Martin was the team’s biggest free-agent signing. While with the Heat, Martin built a reputation of having a nose for the basketball. While he’s struggled to shoot the ball from deep (and uncharacteristically with turnovers), Martin is still doing the little things to help the Sixers. He’s averaging 8.7 rebounds (4.0 offensive) off the wing through three games.

Perhaps the most intriguing signing of the offseason was French forward Guerschon Yabusele. The 28-year-old has also struggled with shooting and turnovers to start the season, but he’s stuffing the stat sheet. Through three games, he’s averaging 8.4 rebounds (4.2 offensive) and 2.4 steals per 36 minutes. He’s also flashed as a passer with 4.8 assists per 36.

Both guys look like winning basketball players that are ideal to surround your stars.

As a team, the Sixers are tied for third in offensive rebounds per game at 15.7 per game. They were ninth last year at 11.0.

The guy below is a big help …

Snare Drum

We all know Andre Drummond was brought in to own the glass. Through three games, he’s done just that, averaging 13.0 rebounds (5.3 offensive) in a little over 28 minutes a game. The Sixers quite literally don’t win Sunday without his defense on … Tyrese Haliburton?

While Drummond’s shot blocking numbers have dipped a bit throughout his career, he might have the quickest hands of any big in the league. Drummond has averaged 1.3 steals per game in his career. He came away with two yesterday on two of the biggest defensive possessions of the game.

For those wondering how Drummond will survive on an island in switches, well, here’s one way!