Philadelphia 76ers: Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey will figure it out

Joel Embiid is used to being “the guy” for the Philadelphia 76ers, and for good reason.

He’s (almost) always the best player on the court anytime he puts Under Armour to hardwood, has an incredibly deep bucket of tricks in his basketball oeuvre, and, most importantly of all, has been embraced by the team, its ownership group, and the City of Brotherly Love like few others league-wide.

Outside of a brief period of time paired up with Jimmy Butler a few years back, Embiid has consistently been the team’s top offensive option in pretty much any situation, even if he’s been borderline desperate for a fourth-quarter partner in crime when Butler started slinging coffee in South Beach.

Though his time hasn’t been quite as expansive in a red, white, and blue uniform, Tyrese Maxey has rapidly become used to being “the guy” for the Philadelphia 76ers too, and for good reason.

In Embiid’s absence, Maxey has become one of the most efficient scorers in the NBA. He’s shooting 49.1 percent from the field, 38.5 percent from 3, and, most surprisingly of all, only turns the ball over 1.4 times per game versus 4.9 assists. He’s also, as you surely already know, averaging 18.5 points on 14.2 shots per game while stringing together six 20-plus point contests in seven games over a two-week period of games sans most of his supporting cast.

So surely, when the two offensive dynamos reconvened for their first game together in three weeks, the Philadelphia 76ers would run like a finely-tuned machine, right? Yeah, not so much, but do you know what? There are still 62 games left to play in the regular season, and any rust on the engine will surely work its way out before the games actually start to count sometime in mid-April.

The Philadelphia 76ers need to build a hybrid offense around Embiid and Maxey.

Joel Embiid likes to get the ball in the paint.

Sure, he can drive down the court, hit open 3s, get to the line, and hit one of the smoothest turnaround jumpers you’ll ever see, but ultimately, Embiid is at his best when he gets the ball in the restricted area and can go to work.

To his credit, Tyrese Maxey also likes to score the ball in the paint, but he does so either off the fastbreak or via a screen that frees up a lane to the basket. Like Embiid, Maxey can score in a few other ways too, like his signature floater, his rapidly-developing 3 point shot, and a similarly smooth turnaround jumper, but his driver has become one of the better shots you’ll see in the NBA, as he’s connecting on 60 percent of his shots from within five feet of the basket on 5.5 attempts per game.

So, you have a point guard who likes to get to the hoop via screen and a big-bodied center who likes to score in the paint, especially when he’s the beneficiary of a well-placed pass. That pairing feels rather seamless, no? I mean, plenty of teams have found success with a one-two, one-five punch, especially when they are as good individually as Embiid and Maxey, so why did it seem like the duo were on completely different pages at times versus the Minnesota Timberwolves?

Because Embiid and Maxey simply don’t have the reps under their collective belts to know how the other likes to operate.

At the beginning of the season, Maxey, the Sixers’ point guard, only averaged 9.7 more touches than Embiid, 74.6 to 64.9. In Embiid’s absence, Maxey’s touches rose to 85.3, right alongside his offensive efficiency. Why? Because Maxey received more opportunities to make plays with the ball in his hands, as opposed to having players like Tobias Harris and Seth Curry initiate the halfcourt offense.

In their first game reunited, Maxey once again ran the offense, out-touching Embiid 114-88, but his usual flash, flour, and relentless furry were noticeably less present in favor of a slightly more measured tenor. Call it a concerted effort to reincorporate Embiid into the offense – I mean, he did score 42 after all – or simply a byproduct of having a big man who can score outside of the restricted area, but a keen observer could almost see the gears in Maxey’s head going, instead of driving to the basket for a shot to score.

To truly unlock the offense moving forward, Embiid, Maxey, and Doc Rivers have to get on the same page and forge a tweaked offensive identity that elevates each player’s strengths and keeps opposing defenders guessing.

Take, for example, the pick-and-pop game Ben Simmons and Embiid would run what feels like a lifetime ago. Embiid would set the screen and swing back behind the arc in the hopes of remaining in the play as a perimeter outlet pass. Maxey wouldn’t run such a play with Andre Drummond as his screener for obvious reasons, but between Embiid’s very live 3-point shot and the 21-year-old’s innate ability to spin out of a down-low double-team, that play could get you points in a number of different ways.

But Maxey and Embiid’s collective misfires weren’t solely based on play-calling. No, as simple as it may sound, the duo are still feeling each other out. With more time in the trenches together,  Embiid will understand where Maxey likes his screens set and where he’ll be looking on the drive. Maxey, too, will learn where Embiid wants the ball in the paint, how to draw away defenders from the restricted area, and hopefully avoid giving the big fella the ball 20 feet from the hoop in end-of-clock ISO situations.

Once those two become comfortable on the court together, it’ll surely be a problem for the rest of the NBA.

As crazy as it may sound, Joel Embiid isn’t used to having a point guard like Tyrese Maxey. Sure he’s played plenty of minutes with Shake Milton, who is a quasi-traditional point guard, but he lacks Maxey’s burst and finishing abilities around the net. For the Philadelphia 76ers to unlock this new look offense and take it to its optimal level, they need to put in the minutes to figure it out as the talent is there. The only thing missing? Reps… and a legit 3-and-D small forward.