How Tyrese Maxey’s return unlocks new lineup possibilities for Sixers

Tyrese Maxey propped his left foot on a chair at his locker inside the Wells Fargo Center, an ace bandage holding an ice bag in place.

The relatively new portion of the 76ers guard’s postgame routine served as a reminder of the work — and time — still required for Maxey to come all the way back from the fractured foot that kept him sidelined for about six weeks.

But, barring another significant injury that affected much of the season’s first half, the Sixers are about to get their first legitimate stretch with their full roster available. Monday’s 120-111 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans — an opponent that handled the Sixers on Friday and entered Tuesday one game back of first place in the Western Conference — already offered a glimpse at the additional combinations coach Doc Rivers can now deploy in their quest to evolve into a championship contender. The Sixers closed the game with a three-guard lineup of Maxey, James Harden, and De’Anthony Melton, while veteran forward P.J. Tucker remained on the bench.

“That’s everything,” Harden said of his team’s return to health. “Just catching a rhythm, seeing what this team is really about and how far we can go, how great we can be on both ends of the ball. I think, so far this season, we’ve done a really good job of just that next-man-up mentality. … All of it’s going to come together eventually.”

While Maxey, Harden, or both were out for nearly two months, the Sixers gained momentum thanks to admirable play from Melton (who has remained in the starting lineup) and fellow guard Shake Milton, along with continued dominance from MVP contender Joel Embiid. From Nov. 12-28, the Sixers won seven out of nine games. Then they won eight in a row from Dec. 9 through Christmas. Monday’s victory pushed their record to 22-14, entering Tuesday fifth in the Eastern Conference but one game back of third place.

During that time, the Sixers have fostered an identity of stingy defense — they entered Tuesday third in the NBA in efficiency at 109.2 points allowed per 100 possessions — and quickly pushing the ball past halfcourt on offense, then using spacing and cutting to complement the isolation mastery from Embiid and Harden. Yet they have not been able to fully develop their star core — Harden has still played only 54 games with the Sixers in less than one calendar year — and infuse the increased depth added during the offseason.

“We’ve found the right way to play offensively and defensively,” Embiid said. “So it’s all about making sure everybody’s on the same page, so we can get rolling.”

Harden returned in early December from a monthlong absence because of a foot tendon strain averaging 22.3 points and an NBA-best 11.7 assists (including a career-high 21 helpers in a Dec. 23 win over the Los Angeles Clippers) in the 13 games since. Monday was Maxey’s second game back, after scoring nine points on 4-of-10 shooting in 19 minutes during Friday’s loss in New Orleans but rested during Saturday’s win at Oklahoma City because it was the second night of a back-to-back set.

Maxey has often looked “out of sync,” as Rivers described, while on a minutes restriction and coming off the bench. But glimpses of the old Maxey cracked through during Monday’s 12-point outing on 5-of-14 shooting in 27 minutes.

Late in the first quarter, Maxey exploded to the basket for an old-fashioned three-point play. In the third period, he got out in transition off a Pelicans turnover for another and-one finish. In the final frame, he buried a corner three-pointer to put the Sixers up, 92-89, then drove the baseline for a layup to give his team a 96-91 advantage with less than eight minutes remaining.

Rivers encouraged Maxey on Monday to use his speed to get his “fingernails on the backboard,” a phrase the coach repeatedly uttered as the dynamic guard ascended into a dangerous scorer during his breakout second season. Maxey said he felt comfortable Monday with guarding his man, switching on defense, and flying down the court. His overall confidence was an improvement compared to Friday’s game, when, on one possession, Embiid twice passed the ball back to Maxey to demand him to shoot.

“I had a heat pack today,” Maxey said. “Because when I got in last game, I got a quick pass from Jo, and he wanted me to shoot it. And I was like, ‘I just got in, bro.’ ”

And a significant chunk of Maxey’s minutes came alongside Harden and Melton, which presents an intriguing lineup in certain scenarios.

Those three players are capable of creating pace with their ballhandling if what Maxey calls the opponent’s “hound dog” defender is pressuring one of them. They can knock down outside shots — as evidenced by Melton’s and Harden’s late back-to-back three-pointers to help seal Monday’s win — or get downhill off a pick-and-roll to score or create for teammates. Melton gives that group an elite perimeter defender to make up for the other two, who are both below average on that end of the floor. And that lineup means Rivers does not need to overwork Tucker, who is playing through a pinched nerve in his neck, had offseason knee surgery, and is 37 years old.

“They’re definitely going to make my life easier,” Embiid said of those three guards playing together.

There are other ways a full available roster offers more lineup flexibility. Rivers noted that Tobias Harris and Georges Niang played more together Monday night. Milton, who can be an instant-offense reserve, started the fourth quarter next to Harden and Maxey. Niang is another player Rivers can ride in crunch time when he is making shots, such as during the Sixers’ Christmas Day win against the New York Knicks, while Matisse Thybulle is an All-Defensive option to throw on elite perimeter scorers.

“We did a lot of different things tonight,” Rivers said. “With all the guys, we feel like we can.”

» READ MORE: Sixers pull away from Pelicans in fourth quarter for 120-111 victory to extend home win streak to 10 games

Maxey’s return unlocks those possibilities — even if he is not yet all the way back to his previous form.

When asked about Maxey’s performance Monday, Embiid jokingly said, “He’s been trash, but he’s getting better,” a reference to a similar playful jab that ignited Maxey’s torrid outside shooting last season. Harden and Maxey chatted postgame about the layups he missed that he expects to make as his timing resharpens, and about the pain Maxey still feels in his foot that will eventually subside. At the practice facility in the coming days, Maxey is looking forward to repeatedly firing “the shots that I know I’m going to get, the shots I need to make, the shots I was making before.”

“Give me two more games,” Maxey told Embiid while chomping on popcorn, his go-to locker room snack.

“No, next game,” Embiid countered.

And a pre-injury Maxey would only enhance the increased options that, after nearly two months of “next man up,” are now available to the Sixers.

“That’s a great problem to have,” Maxey said. “So many different weapons, so many different lineups, so many different combinations that we know work, that we’ve won games with.”