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PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia 76ers suffered through a miserable 2024-25 season where they fell completely short of their championship expectations. They finished 24-58 and saw their star trio all sidelined due to injuries.
Tyrese Maxey had his season cut short at 52 games. He put up very good numbers averaging 26.3 points, 6.1 assists, and 3.3 rebounds, but his shooting numbers dipped to 43.7% overall and 33.7% from deep. Of course, a right finger sprain limited him in his final games. He shot 1-for-19 from deep over his final three games that he played in.
Coach Nick Nurse is not concerned about the tough shooting end for Maxey as he still believes the young star has another level to get to.
“Listen, if you look at his numbers, shooting percentages, and things, things are down from a year ago," Nurse said. "I would reiterate that I think he’s taken two big leaps forward each year defensively. Some of those numbers, if I look backwards, were really affected late in the year when he was trying to play through (his finger injury). I think he ended 1-for-22 from 3 or something, so that’s not going to help any of those numbers."
When it comes to the offseason goals, Nurse laid it out rather simply for Maxey. The goal is to just get that finger healed and ready to go for the 2025-26 season while also being able to take steps forward on offense. Nurse would like his young guard to expand his range.
"I don’t think much changes," Nurse started. "I think A, get him healthy. He’s going to probably need a month to get that (finger) not hit or banged or knocked around again. Just get that thing totally healthy. And then again, I just probably will try to keep increasing his range. I think he can get to be one of these guys that you should never gasp when he pulls up from 35 feet. He can do that; he does it effortlessly. And that’s just going to give him more space to play in."
Nurse would also like to see Maxey attack a bit more. He has such blazing quickness and can take anybody off the dribble. Especially, in the mid range. There is a lot that he can take advantage of on the offensive end and Nurse wants him to unlock even more on that end of the floor.
"Again, I keep saying this — I don’t think we saw it as much as we thought we would this year — he’s got a pretty good package of things to do in between the 3 and the rim that he can go to when the game calls for it," Nurse continued. "I think we need to pull out of him a little bit more next year."
While the 2024-25 season did not go anywhere Nurse, Maxey, or the Sixers themselves thought it would go, there is still an expectation that Maxey will continue his rise in the NBA. Nurse still has a ton of confidence in his All-Star guard.
"Again, this is more my gut: I think he just wasn’t himself," Nurse finished. "He was almost so disappointed that we were having the injuries. He was so excited to go out there and see what this team could do, and then those two (Joel Embiid and Paul George) kind of weren’t there for a large part of that. I just think he kind of wasn’t his old chipper self, and then he’s getting the gauntlet thrown at him defensively, double-teamed like crazy, so there was some adjusting to that. I thought he fought through that amazing and started playing really, really great again until the last injury. I have zero worries about him. He’s heading (up) and he’s not even close to where he’s going to get to yet.”
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Nick Nurse gives offseason goals for rising Sixers star Tyrese Maxey
Continue reading...
Tyrese Maxey had his season cut short at 52 games. He put up very good numbers averaging 26.3 points, 6.1 assists, and 3.3 rebounds, but his shooting numbers dipped to 43.7% overall and 33.7% from deep. Of course, a right finger sprain limited him in his final games. He shot 1-for-19 from deep over his final three games that he played in.
Coach Nick Nurse is not concerned about the tough shooting end for Maxey as he still believes the young star has another level to get to.
“Listen, if you look at his numbers, shooting percentages, and things, things are down from a year ago," Nurse said. "I would reiterate that I think he’s taken two big leaps forward each year defensively. Some of those numbers, if I look backwards, were really affected late in the year when he was trying to play through (his finger injury). I think he ended 1-for-22 from 3 or something, so that’s not going to help any of those numbers."
When it comes to the offseason goals, Nurse laid it out rather simply for Maxey. The goal is to just get that finger healed and ready to go for the 2025-26 season while also being able to take steps forward on offense. Nurse would like his young guard to expand his range.
"I don’t think much changes," Nurse started. "I think A, get him healthy. He’s going to probably need a month to get that (finger) not hit or banged or knocked around again. Just get that thing totally healthy. And then again, I just probably will try to keep increasing his range. I think he can get to be one of these guys that you should never gasp when he pulls up from 35 feet. He can do that; he does it effortlessly. And that’s just going to give him more space to play in."
Nurse would also like to see Maxey attack a bit more. He has such blazing quickness and can take anybody off the dribble. Especially, in the mid range. There is a lot that he can take advantage of on the offensive end and Nurse wants him to unlock even more on that end of the floor.
"Again, I keep saying this — I don’t think we saw it as much as we thought we would this year — he’s got a pretty good package of things to do in between the 3 and the rim that he can go to when the game calls for it," Nurse continued. "I think we need to pull out of him a little bit more next year."
While the 2024-25 season did not go anywhere Nurse, Maxey, or the Sixers themselves thought it would go, there is still an expectation that Maxey will continue his rise in the NBA. Nurse still has a ton of confidence in his All-Star guard.
"Again, this is more my gut: I think he just wasn’t himself," Nurse finished. "He was almost so disappointed that we were having the injuries. He was so excited to go out there and see what this team could do, and then those two (Joel Embiid and Paul George) kind of weren’t there for a large part of that. I just think he kind of wasn’t his old chipper self, and then he’s getting the gauntlet thrown at him defensively, double-teamed like crazy, so there was some adjusting to that. I thought he fought through that amazing and started playing really, really great again until the last injury. I have zero worries about him. He’s heading (up) and he’s not even close to where he’s going to get to yet.”
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Nick Nurse gives offseason goals for rising Sixers star Tyrese Maxey
Continue reading...
