Tyrese Maxey Reacts To Breaking Out Of Slump In Sixers’ Win Over Hawks

PHILADELPHIA–The Philadelphia 76ers needed Tyrese Maxey to break out of this recent shooting slump in the worst way possible. The offense relies on his ability to get into the paint and create plays for himself and others and he has had a tough time doing so since James Harden went down.

Over the previous three games combined, Maxey shot just 19-for-64. That can’t happen if the Sixers want to stay afloat and win games while Harden is out and on Saturday, the third-year guard out of Kentucky broke out.

Maxey had 26 points on 10-for-18 shooting and he also had nine assists in a 121-109 win over the Atlanta Hawks at home. He also knocked down three triples which is a big night for him as he worked out of his slump.

“Last game, I feel like I was playing with a passive mindset,” said Maxey. “I just can’t play that way. That’s not who I am. The person that this team needs me to be, they need me to be aggressive for myself and for others and I think that’s what I did tonight.”

With that being said, it isn’t like Maxey was taking bad shots during the tough stretch for him. His shots just weren’t dropping. At that point, he just needed to stay aggressive and that’s what he did on Saturday.

“I don’t think it was a shooting slump, he just missed some quality shots,” said assistant coach Sam Cassell who filled in for Doc Rivers postgame. “I think he took better shots tonight and once he takes better shots, a 40% or 50% chance it’s going in. He took better shots tonight so that is why he had success tonight.”

Despite the rough shooting by Maxey, he did not lose the confidence of his teammates as it was obvious that they had his back and they were pushing him to shoot the ball still.

“It’s not a rough three games for him at all,” added Shake Milton. “Just growing and he’s gonna continue to grow and become the star player that he is so you just take the ups with the downs and he’s gonna catch a wave and he’s gonna be alright. You’ve seen that tonight, you know what I mean? I don’t think of the 3-game stretch. That’s just him learning and growing, that’s it.”

The Sixers will look to keep it going on Sunday when they host the Utah Jazz.