Tyrese Maxey returned to the Philadelphia 76ers lineup last Friday after missing 18 games with a broken foot.
Before his injury, Maxey was averaging 23 points and four assists while shooting 42 percent from deep to a career-high seven tries per game in 15 matchups.
Many believed Maxey would be committed to becoming an All-Star based on what he displayed in the first leg of the season, but the foot injury ended those chances.
Now that he’s back, Maxey is slowly working his way back into the herd. When he returned to the court to face the New Orleans Pelicans last Friday, Maxey came off the bench for 18 minutes.
The young guard got the next night off when the Sixers paid a visit to the Oklahoma City Thunder on New Year’s Eve. Two nights later, Maxey was back on the ground, checking in off the bench against the Pelicans for 26 minutes.
When asked about Maxey’s progress in two games, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers described the young guard as “out of sync.” Still, he was polite, adding that he loved “a couple of trips to the basket” from Maxey.
Rivers saw positives in Maxey’s first two games. However, Joel Embiid wasn’t able to filter his thoughts on the subject the way Rivers did.
“He was rubbish, but he’s getting better,” Embiid said bluntly. “Today was better than the game in New Orleans. He was really bad at the game in New Orleans. He was really bad in the first game. It just keeps getting better over time.”
Maxey, who was just five feet away from Embiid in the Sixers’ locker room, overheard the big man discuss his game on Monday night. The two then engaged in a friendly exchange that went like this:
Maxey: What would you say?
Emboid: Would you agree that you were garbage?
Maxey: Today?
Emboid: Yes
Maxey: Yes
Emboid: But you were better than the first game
Maxey: I was better than in the first game
Emboid: that’s what I’m saying
Embiid then concluded with his closing statement…
“It’s going to be a while but I’m glad he’s back,” he concluded.
In his first second leg, Maxey had ten shots, three of which came from beyond the arc. He went 40 percent from the field and scored nine points.
In the second game, Maxey made 14 shot attempts and hit 36 percent of his field goals. He finished the game with 12 points. Maxey wasn’t as efficient in the second game, but he wasn’t nearly as hesitant and played more aggressively.
As Embiid said, it could be a while before Maxey gets back to who he was before the injury, but Rivers, Embiid and the rest of the Sixers are confident he’ll get back to who he was before the setback .
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him on Twitter for live updates: @JGrasso_.