Hate to See It: Cavs' J.B. Bickerstaff on Tyrese Maxey's Growth

The Philadelphia 76ers hosted the Cleveland Cavaliers for their second preseason matchup of the offseason. Wednesday’s game marked the first of two matchups between the Sixers and the Cavaliers before the regular season approaches.

Based on what the Sixers put on display a couple of nights before their matchup against the Cavs, there was a lot of hype surrounding Philadelphia’s third-year guard, Tyrese Maxey.

Against the Brooklyn Nets, Maxey was the primary scoring option in the absence of Joel Embiid and James Harden. In 13 minutes, Maxey went 6-8 from the field, 2-4 from deep, and 6-6 from the charity stripe to collect 20 points in two quarters.

Considering the significant jump in development Maxey took last season, he was just picking up where he left off in Philly’s preseason opener. Hours before the 76ers and the Cavaliers tipped off their preseason matchup at the Wells Fargo Center, Cleveland head coach J.B. Bickerstaff acknowledged the growth of the young Maxey.

“He’s done a lot of damage against us,” said Bickerstaff, according to Lauren Rosen of Sixers.com. “You hate to see it.”

Before Wednesday’s preseason matchup, Maxey faced the Cavaliers a total of seven times. Maxey put up 20 points per game in four matchups against Cleveland as a starter last year. He drained 53 percent of his shots and hit on 54 percent of his threes.

Bickerstaff acknowledged Maxey’s success against his team before the matchup, and the Sixers guard once again gave the Cleveland head coach a performance he didn’t want to see.

In the first seven minutes of the matchup, Maxey hit on four of his six field goal attempts for nine points. After getting a breather, Maxey checked in for seven more minutes and was a perfect 5-5 from the field for 12 points. He wrapped up his night with 21 points in just 15 minutes of action.

While Bickerstaff hates to see Maxey succeed the way he does against his team, the head coach is a fan of what the Sixers guard brings to the table in general.

“As a fan of the game, you love to see guys continue to get better,” Bickerstaff said, per Rosen. “Guys that put the work in. He’s hard to handle. It’s what this league is about.”

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.