Dec 16, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey (0) drives in during the first half against the Charlotte Hornets at the Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-Imagn Images
Tyrese Maxey scored 40 points. Paul George scored a season-high 33 points. The Sixers kept the Hornets at arm's length to earn their third victory over Charlotte this season.
Here's what I saw.
Likes
- That Maxey's play has been so up and down in the early stages of this season has been a meaningful factor in why the Sixers have been a disappointment. The glut of injuries is obviously the biggest storyline. But, Maxey's play has not been able to stabilize the offense, largely because his shot diet leads to a wide variance in outcomes. He's leaned heavily into threes and shots at the rim, seemingly not as willing to trust his midrange game. So, the three-point blues up to this point in the season have led to many an inefficient shooting night for the All-Star guard. His touch from deep was sizzling early in this one, but he did something he has rarely done this season, too.
The Hornets gave his two-man game with Andre Drummond quite a bit of space, and he punished it. Maxey slowed down around the pick and snaked the ball screen, curling back toward Drummond until he found the right elbow and pulling up for a midrange jumper.
It was a bit awkward on the live watch. The footwork was abrupt and a bit unnatural. I do not care. The more he sees the scoring opportunities across the three levels of the floor, the more his offensive output will even out from night to night. That shot won't always be there for him. His track record from beyond the arc is strong enough that teams will play him tight. But, if they don't and there's any scheme below the level of the screen, he has to hunt and punish it.
- Most of the game could be summed up in one sentence: the Sixers defended well as a team, and Maxey and Paul George did all the scoring. It was almost entirely true in the first half, the two stars scoring 42 of the team's 54 points ahead of halftime. 78 percent of the group project.
Maxey dabbled a bit in the midrange game. But, most of his work came from target practice on the perimeter and soft touch off the dribble just before the rim.
George, on the other hand, did a little bit of everything. He was deadly when he got his feet set from three and had no problem getting to his spots in the midrange against smaller matchups. You feel a certain level of poise when the ball is in his hands. He's never going too fast, yet there are moments in which he loses control. He slows the game down and can certainly still create some leverage off the dribble, gliding to the rim for a number of crafty scores after manufacturing the driving angle for himself. His passes scrambled my brain at times in this game (see below), but George did not neglect playmaking in favor of riding his heater.
- On the topic of George, his off-ball defense remains excellent. It's not just the horrific Hornets boosting him up. He's had good moments all season. George may not be the on-ball defender he once was. But, his instincts to rotate and get his hands involved in plays are still excellent.
- The shooting show continued into the third quarter, and that's when it became apparent how embarrassing Charlotte's defense is. Philadelphia picked apart their below-level screen coverage late into the third quarter, Maxey and George taking turns dropping threes out of Drummond ball screens. Eric Gordon escaped the grasp of the basketball devil, lacing three triples in the frame. The last one featured a closeout from LaMelo Ball in which the Hornets star lowered his head toward Gordon's belt area, a tribute to the famed crotch duck contest that you'd find at your local YMCA. An amateur defense got what it deserved.
- Hard to dig at George too much given the weight he carried in the first half, but some of his passes make you wonder what his eyes see on the floor. These three all happened in the first half:
- Make. Your. Free. Throws.
- The Sixers would've won this game by 30-plus if they hadn't gone on an amateur hour stint of their own to begin the fourth quarter. Possessions during that stretch included:
Never a dull moment.
- Drummond forgetting to take off his warmup shirt as he checked back into the game will go down as one of the funnier random occurrences of the season. I was hoping he wouldn't realize.
The Sixers (8-16) will host the Hornets (7-19) on Friday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m., Eastern time. You can catch the game on NBC Sports Philadelphia.
