NJ CAMDEN – The Philadelphia 76ers will probably be looking Tyrese Maxey’s way for some important assistance as they attempt to recover from two straight losses. The Sixers offence cannot function without the rising star, who has the potential to go off at any time. The rookie guard resembles another young, talented point guard, Ja Morant, in certain ways, according to teammate De’Anthony Melton.
A reporter questioned Melton about if playing with Maxey is similar to playing with Morant after the Sixers’ Saturday practise ahead of their upcoming home game against the San Antonio Spurs. The 24-year-old security guard described their parallels and divergences.
Maxey and Morant are two young, energetic, athletic players who love to get up and down, according to Melton. They are able to score the ball. They both have lightning-fast reflexes. He did, however, also point out that they have two distinct games. Tyrese tends to hit you with mid-range shots and shoot more 3-pointers. Ja, he paints what he pleases, finishes, and all that. Although they are two different players, they are also somewhat similar.
Melton spent three seasons watching Morant grow into the Memphis Grizzlies’ franchise star by using his blistering speed, explosive athleticism, and playmaking genius to destroy defences before moving to Philadelphia via offseason trade.
Both Morant and Maxey use their speed to their advantage, even though Morant scores more baskets above the rim than Maxey does. Maxey displayed his quickness with three transition buckets in the Sixers’ loss to the Milwaukee Bucks last Thursday. He could join Morant as an All-Star this season.
Tyrese Maxey is REALLY fast! #KiaTipOff22
He turns on the jets for the SLAM on TNT pic.twitter.com/0QAeM0Ung0
— NBA (@NBA) October 20, 2022
Melton made no mention or inference that the Sixers should give Maxey additional food. He did emphasise the significance of one aspect of the game, though, where Maxey frequently excels. Melton said that the goal is to first make stops on defence and then get out in transition when asked what he looks for when he goes off for scoring bursts, like he did on Thursday, scoring seven points in less than six minutes in the second quarter.
Melton remarked, “We just have to keep playing defence and get out in transition.” I believe that transition is where I perform best, so I’ll keep doing it and just enjoy it.
In their first two games, the Sixers only played the Maxey-Melton combination for a total of 18 minutes. Maxey, Joel Embiid, James Harden, and Tobias Harris are Doc Rivers’ four essential players, so it makes sense to play the two young guys with a knack for fast-break opportunities together.
Last year, Maxey was second only to 3-point shooter Seth Curry in terms of points scored per possession while also leading the Sixers in scoring % on transition plays. Melton finished third on the Grizzlies team from the previous season in both transition possessions and points. Naturally, Morant led the team in each statistic. The Sixers should rely on Melton and Maxey as their fastbreak partners to create simple offence as they try to acclimate the new players.
In general, the Sixers won’t try to play faster than Morant’s Grizzlies do (and they shouldn’t), but they would benefit from relying more on fast breaks. Even though they didn’t run it very often last season, they were one of the more effective teams in transition. Their ability to access that aspect of the game depends on Maxey’s quickness, and he now has the perfect companion with whom to pursue it.
De’Anthony Melton clarifies Tyrese Maxey and Ja Morant’s analogy amid desire to “thrive” in transition in the post that first featured on ClutchPoints.
