Sixers Bell Ringer: Maxey, McCain bright spots in Tobias Harris revenge game

Tobias Harris got his revenge game as most of the Sixers looked lifeless offensively in a loss to the lowly Pistons.

Sixers Bell Ringer regular season standings:

Tyrese Maxey – 1

Kelly Oubre, Jr. – 1

Guerschon Yabusele – 1

Tobias Harris was booed throughout the night, but the former Sixer got the last laugh against his former team as the Pistons earned their first win of the season Wednesday, 105-95.

Tyrese Maxey, fresh off a 45-point performance in Indiana Sunday, got the Sixers off to a good start and the team led after on. It was basically all downhill after that.

The Sixers were outworked on the glass and their offense was stuck in mud all night as the duo of Cade Cunningham (22 points) and Jaden Ivey (23 points) punished them repeatedly. Harris hurt his old squad on the boards, pulling in 14 rebounds — a total he matched only once last season. He also added 18 points on 8-of-18 from the field.

It was a brutal offensive night for just about every Sixer. Guys not named Maxey went a combined 21-of-54 for the game. The team’s shooting woes from deep continued Wednesday as they went 8-of-28 from three.

Up next for the Sixers is a home date with the Memphis Grizzlies Saturday night. Will we see Joel Embiid and/or Paul George? Who the hell knows?

Anyway, let’s get to Bell Ringer.

Tyrese Maxey: 32 points, 7 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals

Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

As mentioned, Maxey basically picked up where he left Sunday against the Pacers. He scored 10 points in the first quarter and helped the Sixers build a 26-22 lead.

For most of the night, Maxey was the only supplier of offense. It made it easy for Detroit to load up on him, but he still got his with a game-high 32 points and fairly efficient 12-of-25 from the field. Though he seems to have found his rhythm overall, Maxey is also part of the seemingly team-wide struggles from long range. He was just 2-of-10 from beyond the arc.

I still find it amazing that Maxey turns the ball over so little for such a high usage player. He had only one turnover on the night.

Jared McCain: 12 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds

Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

For a good portion of the night, McCain was the only other player that looked competent on the offensive end of the floor. With respect to McCain, that’s not great.

Still, the rookie first-rounder is really showing something with the minutes he’s getting. Known as a shooter coming out of Duke, McCain has shown off just about every other aspect of his game. On Wednesday, he got downhill, had some nifty finishes, and even drew six free throws. He looks fairly comfortable on-ball as a pro. For a 6-foot-3 guard, his rebounding also stands out. He’s a high-energy player.

McCain still has work to do on the defensive end, but he’s proven to at least be a willing defender. He has a strong lower half — part of the reason he’s such a good rebounder at his height — so maybe Kyle Lowry can teach him a trick or two when it comes to guarding taller players.

And yeah, he’s also not making threes. He missed his only attempt from deep and was 3-of-9 overall.

Guerschon Yabusele: 8 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block

Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images

If we’ve learned anything about Yabusele over his first four games it’s that the man can fill up a stat sheet.

McCain and Yabusele were on the floor for the Sixers’ best minutes of the night. At one point in the fourth, they cut the Pistons’ lead to 10 and appeared to have momentum. Detroit called timeout and took the game back over, but that duo sparked a nice run for the Sixers on both ends. Simply put, Yabusele just knows how to play.

Yabusele, who’s struggled from three to start the year, actually had an encouraging night from distance, going 2-of-3.