Tyrese Maxey: 76ers have ‘come together a lot more’ after disastrous start

Tyrese Maxey: 76ers have ‘come together’ after disastrous start

After putting together practically a brand new roster around Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey this offseason, the Philadelphia 76ers got off to almost the worst start you could possibly ask for.

Constant drama surrounded Maxey and Embiid; newly-signed Paul George, who inked a four-year max, missed nine of the team’s first 17 and 10 of the first 20 games due to injury. The team sputtered as a result, going 5-15 with the league’s fifth-worst NET Rating over that span.

However, they’ve begun to turn the tide. They recently picked up a massive Christmas Day victory on the road against the Boston Celtics, improving to 11-17 on the season and 6-2 over their last eight. After their win, Maxey, who finished with 33 points and 12 assists, voiced optimism about the team’s recent hot stretch.

“I think the biggest thing that we’ve really done is we’ve come together a lot more,” Maxey said, according to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps. “I feel like we had a lot of new guys. I don’t know how many new people we have, like seven or something like that, and it’s difficult. You don’t know how you want to play. You don’t know what combinations go with each other. I think we’re finally figuring that out.”

They are still within striking distance in the East, currently sitting four games back of the Miami Heat for the No. 6 seed and just a 0.5 game back of the Chicago Bulls for the 10th-and-final play-in spot. They are five games ahead of the Hornets, just one spot below them, so they are comfortably in the play-in race.

A big part of their ceiling hinges on staying healthy. I’m not super high on this group collectively, but as long as Maxey, George and Embiid are healthy, they can at least make a playoff series or two interesting.

Is the Philadelphia 76ers’ sluggish start too late to salvage?

That’s a big if, however. Embiid and George aren’t the most durable players in the world, especially in the lower halves of their bodies. Embiid has also suffered multiple injuries to the face over the last three years, including a sinus fracture just two weeks ago that forced him to wear a mask.

Every NBA team has peaks and valleys. The beginning may have been their starkest valley while the latest stretch may have been their highest peak. It was a soap opera, and we’re only one-third of the way through the season. So there’s still plenty of basketball to play. But it’s safe to say that the 76ers won’t be a complete disaster in the East as long as they keep playing the way they’ve played.

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