Harris, Curry Praise Tyrese Maxey for his Defense on Trae Young

Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks were back in town on Saturday night for the first time since they upset the Sixers at home during Game 7 of the second round of the playoffs last year. During that postseason series, 76ers guard Ben Simmons was tasked with sticking on the young star scorer.

Without Simmons on the court for the first of a few rematches against Atlanta, Sixers' second-year guard Tyrese Maxey was ready to have his hands full. Unlike Simmons, Maxey isn't known for being a lockdown perimeter defender.

While Maxey has shown strides in his defensive development ever since he came to Philly after getting drafted out of the University of Kentucky, his matchup with Trae Young on Saturday night was surely a significant test.

"It'll be a lot of fun," Doc Rivers sarcastically said hours before tip-off. While he wasn't necessarily showing a lack of confidence in his young guard, Rivers could probably assume there was a reality where Young dominates on offense.

But Maxey held his own. In Philly's collective effort to contain the young star, they held Trae Young to just 16 shots from the field. Young, who was clearly bothered more often than not, drained only five of his attempts. He also drained just 25-percent of his threes on the night and contributed only 13 points on offense.

"I thought he did a good job just like forcing him into contested twos," said Sixers forward Tobias Harris. "We were trying to limit, obviously, we know how dynamic he is in the pick and roll. I thought tonight we had a good game plan of defending that with areas where we wanted to bump the big and hold him a little bit longer there. So, that helps the guard get back. I thought Tyrese, he stepped up to the challenge and was able to force him to take some tough looks and give him his space. Overall, for a guy like that, who can make shots, he got to play him real physical and make him take those in-between ones and live with them."

In Seth Curry's eyes, Maxey simply stuck to the strategy that the team implemented. While the Sixers were willing to live with Young making some of his signature shots on Saturday night, they benefitted from his frustrations.

"He did a good job," said Curry, in regards to Maxey after the game. "He stuck to the game plan. Continued to chase him everywhere, all over the floor, fight off the screens. So, that's all you can really do. Continue to pursue, work hard. And just trust your teammates as much as possible."  

The Sixers had a solid night overall. While a regular-season win doesn't precisely scream revenge after losing to the Hawks in seven games during the postseason last year, Philly was glad to pick up its fourth win on Saturday. And it was a big win too, as they put Trae Young and the Hawks away 122-94.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.