Section 215
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Philadelphia 76ers: Tyrese Maxey and Dwight Howard are the perfect odd-couple

By Matty Breisch

Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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Maxey and Howard are a special pairing on the Philadelphia 76ers’ second unit.

After blasting off to a blazing start in his debut with the Philadelphia 76ers, Tyrese Maxey‘s second game of the season was a lot more like that of a traditional rookie roleplayer.

Now granted, it’s not like the 20-year-old Kentucky product played particularly poorly in the team’s 109-89 point win over the New York Knicks; far from it, he just didn’t have as many chances to get it done. Logging only eight minutes of action, three less than in his debut but two more than Matisse Thybulle, Maxey finished out the game with two points on 1-4 shooting from the field with two rebounds, three assists, and +2 RPM – the highest RPM of any bench player.

Was it a perfect outing? Goodness no. Maxey has still yet to attempt an NBA 3 – actively avoiding the look at times for a more contested 2 – and once again overshot his screeners on more than one occasion, but the young guard’s herky-jerky style remains a revelation for a team that’s been ‘quicker than fast’ over the past few seasons.

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And, in a particularly serendipitous turn of events, the Sixers just so happen to have the perfect reserve big man to pair up with their young point guard in reigning NBA champion Dwight Howard.

In theory, the idea is beyond obvious. Howard has been in the NBA for 16 years, has appeared in well over 1,200 games split between the regular season and the playoffs, and has experience playing alongside everyone from Anfernee Hardaway and Kobe Bryant to James Harden and LeBron James. Howard is a great screener, an elite defensive rebounder, and an ideal lop target for a young point guard overwhelmed by a swarming defense.

If anyone knows how to get a point guard in the right position to succeed, it’s Howard.

Off the court, Howard has been just as impactful in the very early stages of Maxey’s development, as he pulled the rookie aside during the fourth quarter of the Sixers’ Game 1 win over the Washington Wizard, imparting the following wisdom on the teammate 15 years his junior,

"“When there was a timeout, I pulled him to the side and told him ‘slow down. It’s okay to be fast, but don’t be in a hurry. Don’t allow the defense to dictate where they want you to go. You’re the ball-handler; you’re the point guard. You control everything on the floor. Just slow down and read the game.'”"

And for what it’s worth, Howard’s words were headed. Maxey finished out that game with six points in 11 minutes and a +3 RPM and looked even more comfortable in his second stint running the Sixers’ second unit alongside players like Howard, Thybulle, Shake Milton, Furkan Korkmaz, and Mike Scott. If the two players continue to build a steady connection, it’ll only further strengthen the team’s overall potency and provide the Sixers’ bench with a reliable pop that was sorely missing during the last few years of the Brett Brown regime.

Heck, two of Maxey’s three assists versus the Knicks came on passes to Howard, indicating just how impactful the veteran’s ‘coaching’ has been on the team’s new Popeye’s gofer.

Next. Shake Milton’s offseason hype was well deserved. dark

While many a fan wants nothing more than to see the Philadelphia 76ers play Tyrese Maxey as much as possible, it seems rather unlikely that we’ll see the 20-year-old stealing starts away from Danny Green, Seth Curry, or Tobias Harris any time soon. For better or worse, the 10th winningest coach in NBA history is going to slowly work the 21st-overall-pick into his rotation and continue to prioritize giving minutes to Shake Milton as the team’s top reserve guard. But hey, that’s okay. With Dwight Howard in place as his rock to lean on, there’s no real reason to rush that progression along, as Maxey has everything he needs to be successful already in place.