Tyrese Maxey found his opportunities were short in the second half of the Sixers rookie season. That was a strong contender for the Eastern Conference championship, but it did not slow down or destroy Kentucky’s products. In fact, people around him said that this only brought the favorite of Texas natives.

Doc Rivers said on Monday: “No one can be more effective than him. If you see the minutes of his meetings on the driving range, his lead is far ahead of everyone else, it’s incredible. “He spent a lot of time with my son Spencer, and a lot of time with Sam. [Cassell] The same is really amazing. Even yesterday, we had a “black day”, which means that no one came in, and I knew he was exercising because unfortunately, he was exercising with my son.

“He is the only one. This is his identity. He is working and he wants to be a good person.”

For someone who can only see Maxey when Maxey wears the 76ers uniform, his pace feels fast, as if he just rolled off the bed one day and figured out the rhythm of the game through divine intervention. Trends have changed, and almost all trends have become better. Maxey’s running handbag, the beginning and end of his offensive contribution at a certain moment, is now just a weapon in his arsenal. He beat his opponents at the basket, achieved better results as a passer, and showed confidence as a shooter, even if the result was still behind the game.

Everything is not an easy task. Maxi focused his attention on a low-minute group, and Rivers can be called the hardest job in his NBA coaching career.

Maxey and the other young people in the group, Isaiah Joe and Paul Reed, don’t actually have many choices. With the 76ers using roster modification and Joel Embiid’s MVP-level development promoted to the top of the Eastern Conference, the opportunities are not as rich as in the past. At the beginning of the season, Maxey turned back in time after the COVID agreement drove others out of the lineup. Teammates praised his ability to continue to focus on his goals while handling the uncertainty of his first role in basketball.

“Being able to play here and there, and then use this opportunity to show the growth of the game throughout the season, that’s great. It shows his job off the court while playing in the arena,” Tobias Harris (Tobias Harris) said Monday. “I can’t say how good he is. When you have a young man, the biggest thing I tell him is to be patient with the process. He is someone who might play X minutes on one of the bottom-line teams. Averaged. Can score 17, 18, 20 points, but now he is in a championship team and a championship team, I think there is more growth in this area. And staying in the moment is the biggest thing. “

Compared with the 76 teams in the past few years, this team has a wealth of experience (frankly speaking, time during the pandemic) that can be passed on to the young Maxey. Danny Green (Danny Green) has multiple championships, Dwight Howard (Dwight Howard) was an MVP player, George Hill (George Hill) is a veteran, and the aforementioned assistant coach Cassell is in During the timeout period, one-on-one conversations are often held with players who need them. most. No one on the roster plays like this, but it is an asset for him to learn from people who must learn their own way.

Crucially, Maxey is willing to learn these courses anytime, anywhere. Rivers has always praised Maxey for his instructability, a trait that is not always common among tough-headed men who became professional athletes in the 1920s and early 1920s. Sometimes his malleability is almost negative-at the beginning of the season, Maxey showed a tendency to surpass and appease veterans, while he tried to gain a foothold at the NBA level. But, frankly, the 76ers maintained a healthy balance during the decline, and frankly, it was a dazzling light during the bad basketball period in Philadelphia and the entire league.

Those old men are paying attention. Hill has only limited time to observe and play with young people. He believes that the sky is the limit of the 20-year-old defender.

Hill said in Monday’s practice: “I’m very excited for him, and I think he will become one of the top guards in the league in the next few years.” “I’ve been telling him to continue to prepare and continue. Do what he is doing because I love everything about him.This child has a heart, has high athletic ability, wants to learn, and [plays] Right way. I am very excited for all the achievements he has achieved so far, and I know that he has a lot more. Look forward to it. “

Note that whether this is enough to get him into Doc Rivers’ playoff rotation is another matter entirely. Maxey has been one of the best players on the bench in recent weeks. This is one of his best performances this year. He stands out from the rookie lineup. But when everyone is healthy and in uniform, he will still be in a fight. With Furkan Korkmaz returning to the field during practice matches this week, Maxey may find himself parked in the pine tree again, just hoping to take another shot.

However, no one in Philadelphia is worried that he will be ready after the call, whether it’s 20 minutes in Tuesday’s game against the Pacers or five minutes in the first round of the playoffs. That quiet confidence in his game is the best compliment his game can get.

Harris added on Monday: “Thales is a good boy and a great player. What I love about him is that he takes the opportunity when he has the opportunity.” “Being a vet and having an impact on him, for me is An honor.”

Other matters needing attention

• This is not a complete exercise In the Philadelphia game on Monday, the 76ers had three famous names: Joel Embiid, Shake Milton and Matisse Thybulle. ). The good news is that the first two guys fall into the “management” category of absences, they are just to give them a little extra time off. There may be more such events in the next few weeks, and may even be extended to game night, as long as the 76ers can do a good job and end the game for the first place this week.

On the other hand, concerns about Thybulle’s absence are slightly greater (and second only to). He was able to return to the game after Jerami Grant fell in his hand against the Pistons on Saturday night. It’s an ugly situation and it feels like it might get worse against Philly. . On Monday afternoon, Rivers said that this hand was enough to attract his attention and avoid contact with him during practice.

Rivers said: “We don’t want anyone to play it, just because it will prevent him from participating in the game tomorrow.”

Although it feels like it belongs to the “safe use” category, it still deserves attention.

• What are the achievements of the 76ers In these practices, anyway? Between the seasons, they have been very few and far apart. This is the product of a tight schedule, forcing the team to think about rest more than ever. This is an alliance where “load management” has been a topic that people have been talking about for many years, so you know they are thinking about fatigue a lot.

Let the 76ers know this, the focus now is just to maintain rhythm and a certain degree of consistency when entering the playoffs. Even though they ran all the way in the remaining four games and played all the starters, Rivers reminded reporters on Monday that they will be eliminated next week. Thanks to the playoff tournament, the playoff teams can get about a week of rest and practice time before the start of the playoffs. This is a good bonus for everyone who has performed well this year. They can avoid themselves. The fate of the season participates in the single-elimination rounds.

So far, the practice time is not all. Move to Netflix and relax. Say hello to rest and relax.

Harris said: “To be honest, this season is simply ridiculous.” “When you look at the number of games, when you get practice time, it is actually used for rest, which is more like personal guidance. In the normal season, you have two days of rest, but in the regular season, this kind of rest is very frequent. Now, you have two days of rest. Yesterday was like a vacation to me, just like a man. I become relaxed and I don’t have to worry about anything or anything else, and I’m ready for the game. Being tight will really affect the practice time and your abilities.”

“But I don’t know if we come here today, go all out and know our upcoming schedule, it will be no good. This is more like a day of rest and relaxation, but actually just a day of mental recovery.”

For the 76ers, rest and relaxation between two days has proven to be a very valuable strategy. We will see how they look when they need to be rigorously practiced during vacations to make them play correctly between high-level series of games.

Follow Kyle on Twitter: @KyleNeubeck