Fred VanVleet Praises Tyrese Maxey for 'Amazing' First Game vs. Raptors

When the Philadelphia 76ers and the Toronto Raptors opened up their first-round playoff series on Saturday night, the Raptors were focused on Philadelphia's

When the Philadelphia 76ers and the Toronto Raptors opened up their first-round playoff series on Saturday night, the Raptors were focused on Philadelphia's star duo of James Harden and Joel Embiid.

In the week leading up to the game, Raptors' All-Star guard Fred VanVleet sent the highest praise Embiid's way as he considers the star center to be several current and future legends mixed into one dominant player.

"He’s turned into Kevin Durant, Michael Jordan, Kobe, and Shaq all put together," said VanVleet last week. "He’s handling a little bit more, he’s playing on the perimeter a little bit more, he’s facing up at the nail, he’s playing at the elbows so he can see where the help comes. You can see the jumper; the touch is there. He’s found different ways to get to the line, and he’s using his size on mismatches. He just continues to get better, and that’s probably the most overlooked part of what we do in the league. We forget that these all-world guys and these incredible talents can get better, and he’s certainly gotten better since 2019."

The Raptors intended to throw everything Embiid's way during Game 1 on Saturday night. Technically, Toronto found success. As the Raptors held Joel Embiid to just 5-15 shooting from the field in 37 minutes, the league's scoring champion accounted for just 19 points in his 2022 playoff debut.

Toronto could feel good about slowing Embiid down on the offensive end in Game 1, but it didn't steer the final results of the game in the Raptors' favor. The Sixers can give a lot of thanks to their second-year guard Tyrese Maxey for that.

As the Raptors slowed Embiid down and Harden put on his playmaker cap, the Sixers relied on Maxey and Tobias Harris to lead the charge in the scoring department. Harris' 26 points in 37 minutes were great. Maxey's 38 points in 38 minutes were even better.

High Praise From an All-Star

"I think he found the cracks in the defense and our game plan," said Toronto All-Star Fred VanVleet regarding Maxey. "Obviously, we loaded up a ton on Joel and loaded up a ton on James, and he was able to find success in the cracks and the creases."

Finding success is an understatement for Maxey's Game 1 performance. As the young guard hit on 14 of his 21 shots and went five for eight from deep, Maxey's performance was almost flawless. VanVleet and the Raptors couldn't help but give the first-time postseason starter his props for a job well done, as the Raptors now know they need to treat Maxey the way they treat the rest of Philly's stars.

"[We] just have to guard him better and give him a little bit more attention," VanVleet finished. "He's a heck of a player. He had an amazing, almost damn-near-perfect game tonight. Give him credit. Obviously, we'll show him a lot more attention going forward."

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