The Sixers kicked off their season last night with a new starting point guard, Tyrese Maxey. Through all the drama that has insured thus far, Maxey has been the beneficiary of the minutes that are up for grabs and last night he took full advantage. In 34 minutes, the most on the team, Tyrese Maxey put up an impressive stat line of 20/5/7, and finished as a +23 in his time on the floor. Maxey even expanded his range by knocking down a couple deep jumpers.

Maxey’s skillset is a necessity to the team this season without a true ball handling guard to run the offense. He took great care of the ball last night by only turning it over once, but where Maxey makes a difference is in the pick and roll game. The chemistry between Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid is continuing to grow. As we saw last night, Maxey will find mismatches to attack often and does a great job getting to the rim and using his patented floater.

Tyrese Maxey was deliberate, decisive, and efficient in his attack last night, going 8/14 from the field and ⅔ from deep. Having a guard that is able to handle the ball proficiently, shoot a jumper consistently, and get downhill at the rate that Maxey does is something the Sixers have been looking for, and he fits the mold of that player already.

There is still plenty of room for the youngster. Defensively he struggled closing out on shooters within control. While he doesn’t get much love from the officials he does tend to force some shots up on his way to the basket. In reality, if those are the only knocks on Maxey then we are in pretty good shape.

In an upgraded role and higher expectations this season, Maxey has already made headway towards a solid sophomore season. Tyrese Maxey has a unique opportunity this season as long as the Simmons saga continues, and if he improves on the foundation he laid in the season opener I think we should all be very excited for this kid.

Mandatory Credit: USA Today Sports