MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Tyrese Maxey, the Philadelphia 76ers star point guard, usually has a smile and a head nod for everyone. He is usually the first to say hello and the first to stick around for a chat, even if it’s only a few words.
On Tuesday, as the Sixers finished up an energetic and lively practice in Memphis, Maxey’s face was steely. His trademark was nowhere in sight. His tone of voice measured. The conversation was to the point.
On Monday night, during a long team meeting, with the details confirmed by The Athletic, Maxey flexed his leadership muscles. He looked at his close friend, Sixers superstar Joel Embiid, and told him that the way he handled his business affected the rest of the team. Among other things, these were the words that sparked a long discussion, where players and coaches held each other accountable for different reasons concerning an NBA-worst 2-11 start.
The Sixers haven’t been healthy, nor have they rolled out a full roster this season. But that doesn’t matter. What matters heading into Wednesday’s game against the Grizzlies is that there is too much talent on the roster, no matter who is available, for this team to have won just two of 13 games. The coaches know it. The players know it.
“I wanted to speak up,” Maxey said. “I felt the need to do that because I wanted to share that we are better than what we have shown on the floor. There was a lot said, but it is what it is. We said what we had to say and we have to figure out a way to move on to the rest of the season. Everyone understands what’s at stake. Everyone is feeling the hurt.”
In the short term, team meetings almost always add a little juice to a group. So if the Sixers play well Wednesday night, it won’t be a surprise. But this Philadelphia team has basketball issues that are starting to feel like a little more than rust. They have issues that are starting to feel fundamental. They are turning the ball over too much. They go through pockets of games where they have issues scoring efficiently and at a high level. They go through chunks of games where they struggle to get stops on defense.
While the lack of defense is atypical of a Nick Nurse-coached team, the lack of offense shouldn’t happen to a team with Maxey, Embiid and Paul George, not to mention an offensively brilliant rookie such as Jared McCain. The penchant for turnovers shouldn’t happen to a team with typically steady veterans like Kyle Lowry and Eric Gordon. There have been several external factors. The injury bug has run through the roster. That’s made for a bunch of lineup changes, rotation adjustments and things that generally don’t happen to a team 13 games into a season.
But this was supposed to be a championship-level roster, even without McCain’s emergence. He may be one of your leaders in the race for the NBA’s Rookie of The Year. This team is simply supposed to be better than it is.
“We need to start winning, and there is no doubt about that,” Nurse said. “Last night’s meeting was brutally honest. Everybody wants the team to succeed and right now we’re not. We’re losing and there’s all kinds of issues and reasons for why, and we’re trying to get it taken care of. We knew at the beginning of the season that we needed to be healthy and we needed to have some things come together quickly.
“So far, none of that has happened. So, I think everybody just needed to get these things on the table, and I think in that sense, last night’s meeting was a step for us in the right direction.”
Maxey, who has been out for an extended period with a hamstring strain, went through all of Tuesday night’s practice. He is listed as questionable for Wednesday night, but if he returns, he will be on a heavy minutes restriction. It would also mark the first time this season the Sixers have their big three of Maxey, Embiid and George on the floor at the same time. However, Lowry will miss the next three games with a hip strain and will be evaluated next week, so the Sixers won’t have a full roster even if Maxey returns.
What disappointed Maxey on Monday night was a perceived lack of fight from the Sixers against the Miami Heat. In a 106-89 loss, the Sixers led by as much as 19 points in the first half. They lost by 17, a 36-point turnaround. Looking deeper into that game, the Sixers were the team with the rest advantage, as Miami was playing on the second night of a back-to-back. And yet, the Heat played with far more energy, particularly in the second half, when they were able to pull away.
“When they hit us, we were supposed to hit back,” Maxey said. “It was supposed to be a (proverbial) fight out there, but it wasn’t. We kind of laid down in Miami, and that’s something that we can’t do anymore.”
The Sixers scored just 33 points after halftime against the Heat. Once they allowed Miami to take control, as Maxey said, they never fought to regain it. That’s why what was shaping up to be a blowout for the Sixers, turned into a blowout of the Sixers.
Tuesday’s practice, given the circumstances, was a lively and productive one. But Nurse has seen those. What he wants is to see things translate. What he wants is for Philadelphia to finally start playing to its talent level for multiple games.
“Will things show up tomorrow under the bright lights? That’s the main checkpoint,” Nurse said. “You try and scratch your head and think about why the wins aren’t coming. We try to uncover every rock and everything you can fix. Why aren’t we shooting the ball better when we are wide open? We are generating a lot of looks and if we can start making more of them, that increases the margin for error pretty quickly.
“But then we have turnover issues in the third quarter of games, and that’s a lack of execution and a lack of focus and toughness. And too many of them are baskets the other way. So we have a lot to clean up.”
(Photo: Bill Streicher / Imagn Images)
