For a team missing two big weapons, they’re not using their third correctly.
Not a single time during the Philadelphia 76ers opening game loss to the Milwaukee Bucks did Tyrese Maxey attempt a catch-and-shoot three. It may seem a trifling point to make. The team was missing their proficient advantage creators Joel Embiid and Paul George. The former is an MVP-center who scored more points per minute than anyone ever has last season and, if the defense could employ lunar forces, would draw the ocean in every time he had the ball. The latter is a smooth-operating forward who is so proficient at aesthetically breaking down defenses that younger NBA players call him the GOAT.
But they’re not available. Maxey’s instead left with a valiant and veteran supporting cast, but one that is nowhere near Embiid and George’s level. As the team’s sole star, Maxey only made 10 of his 31 field goal attempts and just two of his nine three-point attempts. Not one came immediately after catching a pass. And that’s somewhat expected. Maxey is capable of carrying this team with his offensive brilliance. Think back to his 51-point performance against Utah last year or his absurd Madison Square Garden playoff pull-ups. His first shot of the Bucks’ game was a swished deep stepback three. It was promising, but the only foreshadowing was in the form, not the result.
He won’t clank as many off-dribble shots and speeding layups as he did in this game, but for future battles, the team must add some more greens to the growing kid’s shot diet. And for Maxey, greens are catch-and-shoot threes. The last three seasons, he’s shot 44%, 45%, and 45% on such shots. At his volume (3.5 c&s attempts per game) that’s a top-five efficiency in the league. That’s a weapon.
There were a few possessions where the Sixers seemed to want to unholster it but didn’t. Some plays that seemingly set Maxey to come flying off screens were also shot down by the defense or by a teammate taking an unadvised three. A fake handoff with Andre Drummond led to Maxey open with the ball in the corner and a chance to shoot. He has to let those fly to ensure an efficient offense.
Steph Curry-esque off-ball marathon running isn’t required. Nor is Nick Nurse needed to draw up plays Phil Jackson saw in the depths of an ayahuasca retreat. It can start with Maxey on the ball, running a pick-and-roll, or penetrating the defense and putting the ball in rotation.
The Sixers did it multiple times throughout the game without Maxey and it paid off. This Embiid and PG-less roster is smart. They know how defenses have to react and how to exploit it. Look at this simple sequence leading to a Yabusele layup. Ball movement keeps the defense moving and will eventually lead to open shots. But Maxey and his teammates don’t even need to make these shots for the possession to be valuable.
Against the Bucks, the Sixers had 17 offensive rebounds, and nothing creates great shots like missed shots. At least one shooter was wide open beyond the arc on half of the team’s offensive boards. But there was not enough concerted effort to kick the ball back out.
Because he took so many shots, Maxey was barely the shooter out there. But if the team’s offensive rebounding prowess is here to stay and other teams hound Maxey as Gary Trent Jr. did, there should be plenty of chances for Maxey to hit threes off second chances.
If none of the above materializes, Maxey needs to just let it fly after catching a pass. If he did it in a non-absurd position five times a game, two would go in. (Lowry did it here and it went in!) There were just too many possessions where Maxey stood aimlessly pointlessly beyond the three-point line, not putting himself in a position to catch the ball. Being the team’s only gravitational force on the floor, you better employ that force. Maxey did not.
As long as Embiid and PG are out, it will be tough to generate elite offense. But the team still has one of the best weapons in the league. Maxey catch-and-shoot threes aren’t as mortifying as Embiid’s offense is, nor do they complement early-2000s RNB as Paul George’s handles do. But they’re as important as can be to a team in dire need of reliable offense.