Tyrese Maxey Confident Joel Embiid is Hitting a 'Groove'
With James Harden off the court for the next couple of weeks or so, the Philadelphia 76ers have had to lean on the All-Star center Joel Embiid and the third-year guard Tyrese Maxey to run the offense in a different way than when Harden’s on the floor.
On Sunday night against the Utah Jazz, Embiid and Maxey were the only Sixers members to score double-digits. The former scored triple the amount as the Sixers went on to take down the red-hot Utah Jazz on the second night of a back-to-back.
Maxey’s 18-point performance was certainly needed on Sunday night, but Embiid’s 59-point showing is what helped the Sixers seal the deal with a 105-98 victory.
“Joel Embiid is very good at basketball,” Maxey said after the Sunday night win. “There’s nothing I can really say about it. He’s just really good at basketball.”
Some might say Embiid got off to a slow start this year, primarily because his conditioning was affected by setbacks he suffered during the offseason. Just when it seemed like he was starting to get back on track, the big man began battling the flu, forcing him off the floor for three games.
Since returning to the court last Monday against the Phoenix Suns, Embiid quickly improved each game before looking better than ever in Sunday’s outing.
“It’s good to see him back,” Maxey added. “He’s having a lot of fun. I think you can tell he’s hitting his groove, honestly. Whatever he had with his foot kind of messed him up. I thought he was in really good shape, then his foot kind of messed with him. Then he got sick. That messes with your wind. And now I think he’s finally hitting his stride. He’s just really good at basketball.”
A career-high 59-point outing was highly impressive for Embiid, but his overall performance beyond the scoring was what impressed his teammates and coaches the most. And the fact that he performed that well while battling through numerous setbacks just made the performance much better in Maxey’s eyes.
“He’s a soldier,” Maxey continued. “He was coming in saying his shoulder was hurting and stuff like that. For him to go out there and play and give it his all is huge. It’s huge for this team and huge for this organization. Your best player, after a 42-point performance last night on a back-to-back, he comes out here and dominates again. Has 59-points and seven blocks and ten boards, and eight assists. Just his presence was really good tonight. He made shots. He made free throws. He’s just good at basketball. It’s that simple.”
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.
