Tyrese Maxey, 76ers’ Backcourt Ready to Step Up for James Harden

Tyrese Maxey and Shake Milton are ready to collectively step up in the absence of James Harden.

For 59 games last year, the Philadelphia 76ers didn’t have James Harden around. In his absence, the former first-round pick Tyrese Maxey ran the offense as the three-time All-Star Ben Simmons stayed away from the team on game nights.

Although Maxey improved as a starting point guard last year, the Sixers saw a much-needed significant boost in the playmaking department when Harden joined the team via trade with the Brooklyn Nets. And with The Beard on board, Maxey saw an improvement as a scorer as well.

Without Harden, Maxey averaged 17 points while draining 39 percent of his threes last year. When the star guard finally got on the court, Maxey boosted his scoring to 18 points per game while knocking down 48 percent of his threes.

This year, Maxey’s progressed further on the offensive end. In nine games with Harden, the young guard has averaged 24 points while draining 47 percent of his threes. With Harden as the primary ball handler, Maxey could focus more on scoring through the first stretch of the season.

Now that Harden’s sidelined for a while, Maxey will revert to his role from earlier in the season last year for the time being.

On Wednesday night, Harden suffered a foot injury in the matchup against the Washington Wizards. After being diagnosed with a tendon strain in his right foot, the star guard is expected to miss a stretch of games, leaving the keys to the Sixers’ offense in Maxey’s hands. 

“I’ll be ball-handling a little bit more and trying to facilitate a little bit more to get guys in their spots,” said Maxey on Friday morning. "Same kind of thing I had to do at beginning of last year before we got him. Just still be aggressive and find ways to help us win games.”

Although Sixers head coach Doc Rivers has mentioned over time that he prefers Maxey playing as a two-guard while Harden controls the backcourt, Maxey has plenty of experience playing the point, which leaves him confident moving forward.

“I’ve been handling the ball since I was a little kid. So I mean, it’s not that bad, it’s just we’re in the NBA now,” said Maxey. “We’re just going to try and go out there as a collective group and make up for what he does. Not one person can be James Harden. I’m not James Harden, Shake’s not James Harden, and Furk’s not James. We’re just gonna go out there and collectively try to make up for what he brought to the table and try to win games.”

Harden’s absence not only changes things for Maxey but affects bench players as well. Assuming De’Anthony Melton gets a promotion to the starting lineup, the Sixers will have to utilize Shake Milton more often, which is a situation Maxey is confident in.

“I just know he’s ready,” Maxey said in regard to Milton. “He’s a professional. He stays ready. He’s been in here late at night, early in the morning after games that he hasn’t played as much. I have the ultimate faith in him. I think the organization has the ultimate faith in him as well. He’s been a staple on this team for the last three years, at least since I’ve been here. I know he’s ready — him and Furk — they stay ready, so I’m not worried about those guys.” 

With the Harden news still fresh, the Sixers have yet to really work on how they’ll approach games moving forward, as they’ve only had one shootaround session since Harden’s diagnosis. Milton isn’t clear on how much his role will change, but he has an idea of how everything will go.

“I imagine I’ll get to play and have an opportunity,” Milton said on Friday morning. “That’s what it looks like, everybody’s gonna be ready and ready to go. Everybody was locked in at shootaround just getting our work in and getting prepared.” 

The Sixers will face the New York Knicks on Friday night. It marks the first matchup they’ll take on without Harden this season. Considering the Sixers were already a work in progress with Harden on the court, Friday’s game could feature a lot of trial and error as the Sixers adapt to life without Harden for the time being. 

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