Six Thoughts: Maxey's Big Night Gives Sixers Something to Play for on Sunday

Tyrese Maxey led the Sixers with 32 points, eight rebounds and five assists to power the Sixers to a victory over the Indiana Pacers and keep their hopes of avoiding the Play-In tournament alive.

Here are six thoughts on the game.

Maxey is looking more like himself

The full-court chest pass Maxey shot directly into the basket just after the halftime buzzer was a bow on a really encouraging first half. The Sixers will probably be without Joel Embiid through at least a first-round playoff series, and that might be on the optimistic end of his timeline as the big guy recovers from an appendectomy. If Philadelphia's participation in the postseason is going to be anything more than a ticket aboard the Titanic, the Sixers are going to need the version of Maxey they've gotten on this back-to-back.

The version they got against the San Antonio Spurs was passive, jab-stepping his way out of catch-and-shoot jumpers he'd usually take without hesitation. It culminated in him snaking a ball screen in the fourth quarter and then holstering a pull-up 3, a shot he typiclly doesn't given second thought to taking.

He was more aggressive and more productive against the Houston Rockets on Thursday, even if onre of his 3s was very wide of the basket and his handle with his right hand was loose all night. It is fair to wonder whether he's still feeling the ill effects of that pinky injury on his shooting hand.

But the player he was against the Pacers was much more in line with what Maxey has been all season. He was comfortable handling the ball with either hand, dribbling explosively when he cracked the paint. He looked comfortable shooting the ball and the accuracy, while not perfect, was reasonable. Maxey had no problem using his right for finishes at the rim and floaters outside of the restricted area, beating the ball into the floor on post-ups from the left side of the floor and making defensive plays with his right hand.

All things that would indicate the hand is feeling better. Of course, all hope must promptly be ripped from the Sixers. As such, Maxey went back to the locker room clutching his right hand toward the end of the third quarter after colliding with Jay Huff. Something to monitor.

The Sixers' future is unique

Not exactly breaking news here: Maxey and VJ Edgecombe are pretty darn good. But think about backcourt duos around the NBA. How many of the best ones have two ballhandlers, both of whom can play off the ball, who fit hand-in-glove defensively?

Everything looks better against this version of the Pacers, but Edgecombe is piling up the reps as a ballhandler. It's even happening in lineups that include Maxey. And to Maxey's credit, he's not letting pride get in the way of opportunities to diversify the offense.

The best version of this team will likely have them splitting those duties. It's necessary to get a little more size on the ball to see the floor against some defenses while getting one of the most dangerous shooters in the world off the ball to space the floor.

That's a good problem to have and one to manage in the future. But the Sixers and their fans should be thrilled to have two guards who can create and fit so comfortably.

Some high-level defensive plays from Edgecombe in this game

Edgecombe blocked a shot in the paint guarding straight up. It was not a chasedown with momentum carrying him. Edgecombe simply met the shooter at the summit and stuffed the ball back. He picked off an outlet pass in the open floor to create a transition opportunity, having the awareness to lurk away from the vision of the passer and then flying in to intercept the ball and keep it in bounds. He also out-muscled Pacers for contested rebounds. He was one of the few Sixers who actually defended in this one.

Time to notice Edgecombe's passing

I'm not sure he has the turbo speed that Maxey has, but Edgecombe has the ability to glide in space. And because he's demonstrated ability to finish through contact, defenses see him coming and press up to stop the ball. It leaves teammates open at the rim and shooters open on the strong side.

And to Edgecombe's credit, he's seeing those openings. He had a great kick to the corner in the first half and made a brilliant dump-off pass to Dominick Barlow with three guys focused on the rookie in the second half.

I don't know that we can say Edgecombe has a distinct advantage in size over Maxey when it comes to seeing the court. But it does feel like he has more natural passing vision than Maxey does.

A disappointing night for Adem Bona

Micah Potter and Jay Huff are fine bigs who Bona should be able to guard in space. They aren't exactly overwhelming in stature. So this matchup should theoretically have given Bona an edge on both ends of the floor. Instead, he was out of position to defend their floor-stretching often throughout the game. On the other end of the floor, he rushed some things at the rim.

To be fair, with the perimeter defense submitting a very uninspiring night of work, it wasn't always Bona's fault that he wasn't in proper position. It's difficult to be everywhere and back to home when there are so many cracks in the front line.

It should not take the best basketball to work Andre Drummond out of the rotation. But Drummond earned significantly more run than Bona did in this game. And to his credit, Drummond amassed 16 rebounds—seven on the offensive glass.

Snap your pencils, kick a wall, pull your hair

Stop fouling 3-point shooters. It's very simple. Contest to the side. Keep your arms up but not extended. Close out with control and choppy steps. They teach this in grade school.