How Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey Crushed the Indiana Pacers

Tyrese Maxey flirted heavily with a 32-point triple-double as Joel Embiid returned after a five-game absence. He did not miss a beat, and the Sixers made easy work of the injury-depleted Indiana Pacers to finish a road trip 2-1.

Here's what happened.

Picking up where he left off

If the games without Embiid were not enough to illustrate his value, the change in the team's shot quality with him on the floor should do the trick. It isn't just the mastery of the midrange, a shot so efficient that it single-handedly serves as a transition defense because of how often it's a bucket. It's the gravity (and, thus, passing) and spacing Embiid adds to the equation.

The spacing was on display in the first couple of possessions of the game. Embiid spacing out brought Jay Huff out of the paint, meaning that the rim protector was behind Maxey if the star guard got downhill into the paint. Maxey revved the engine and beat the help rotation to the rim for an easy layup over a smaller Pacer. When Andre Drummond or Adem Bona is the one in the lineup, that spacing doesn't exist, forcing Maxey to charge into the biggest guy on the other team in hopes of a difficult layup.

The passing was also on display as the first quarter went on. One of Embiid's biggest areas of growth under Nick Nurse is passing—both in trust in teammates and variety. As Embiid has matured, the simple draw-two-and-kick pass has become an easy staple of his game. Even for a guy who hasn't played since before the All-Star break, Embiid's reads were quick. It maximized his teammates' shot quality. Just by catching the ball on the left block, Embiid warranted a slow double-team. He reacted by firing the ball to the top of the key, where Kelly Oubre Jr. was stationed for an open three.

Maxey's crusade to the rim

The second and third quarters of the game can be appropriately described as an assault on the rim by the Sixers' lead guard.

Maxey will soon pass Allen Iverson for the Sixers' all-time leader in threes made at just 25 years old. He's an excellent shooter. But he's simply a different weapon when he's in drive-first mode. Maxey feasted in the paint all game long, vacillating back and forth between crafty English off the backboard at awkward angles and soft floaters that ripped the netting.

In this particular matchup, it was easy for Philadelphia to find a happy medium on offense. When Embiid was in the game, the Sixers used him as the fulcrum. With the ball in either his or Maxey's hands, Embiid either bumped defenders on DHOs and led Maxey to the rim with a bounce pass ahead or spaced out of screens and waited for Maxey trigger the next decision. If Maxey wasn't feeling it, Embiid got to pick on the likes of Huff and Micah Potter any way he felt like. He jockeyed for deep positioning in the post, drove through contact and powered his way to the basket, ripped through and drew contact on the hands or tortured them from the midrange.

As mentioned above, Embiid enhanced Maxey's shot quality. But when Embiid wasn't in the game, Maxey got to match Indiana's desired pace and run. That's easy to do when the big on the floor is Bona, who is not commandeering the offense in any way. Maxey feels no pressure to slow down and accommodate him. It's off to the races on every miss and turnover. Maxey has shredded the opposition in back-to-back games by pressing the gas in the open floor. And as we saw in the win over Minnesota, his understanding of changing speeds has enabled him to solve congestion quickly and find gaps to continue his trek to the basket. It might be a hesitation move or a spin, a split double-team and a step-through, he's escaping barricades and exploding to the basket.

This game demonstrated, perhaps as much as anything else, Maxey's growth as a midrange shooter. That offering is allowing him to play out of the post. You saw him backing Pacers down to get to the middle of the paint before pivoting into fadeaways. He's seeking out ways to get to the elbows, sticking pull-ups to demoralize defenders.

That development has made him a less predictable scorer. For years, it was about getting into the teeth of the defense for a shot close to the basket or finding heaters from three. This season has seen his ascent into consistent midrange accuracy. It's bailed him out of some moments when bigs take away the rim or the threes aren't falling.

Quick decisions

Quentin Grimes is simply a different basketball player when he's not toggling through decisions with the ball in his hands. When his role is condensed to catching and shooting or catching and attacking off the dribble, he's an explosive player. His three-point shooting has to be consistent for more than two games for it to be anything more than some variance. But a lot of shooters are better when they don't waste time between the catch and the shot.

VJ Edgecombe can dance with the ball a little more because he's simply a better off-the-dribble player than Grimes is. In fact, the Sixers have to start putting the ball in his hands more in the second halves of games just to buy Maxey some possessions of rest. The finishing at the rim has a ways to go. That efficiency would probably be higher if he didn't try to posterize someone every time he sees an opportunity. But his midrange game is here right now. That's something the Sixers should weaponize more as they look for non-Embiid offense. But on this night, Edgecombe was not bashful stepping into threes and had some success. He did, however, airball two of them.

Spare thoughts

Good on Nurse for staggering Embiid and Maxey. His rotation decisions loomed large as the game turned over between quarters and it was good to see Maxey not resting to start the second quarter while Embiid was resting for an extended stretch.

Follow us on X at SixersOnSI for the latest Sixers news.