Sixers Bell Ringer: Should it be Tyrese Maxey ... or Tyrese Maxey?

Sixers regular season Bell Ringer standings:

James Harden - 3

Joel Embiid - 1

Tyrese Maxey- 1

It feels fitting that they played their best game to date without anyone around to watch. The Philadelphia 76ers picked up their second win overall and first of the 2022-23 season without Joel Embiid. Without their All-Star center, the Sixers were able to slow down the red-hot Raptors shooting and rode a career performance from Tyrese Maxey to a 112-90 win.

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Tyrese Maxey: 44 points (15-20 FG), 8 rebounds, 4 assists

To say that Maxey got off to a hot start in this one is an understatement. He started the game by tying a Sixers record by making his first 10 field goals (Lou Williams last did this in 2010). Seven of those first 10 shots came from beyond the arc, and many of his nine made three-pointers on the night came from well beyond the arc. Maxey’s first half alone put him comfortably in the front running for tonight’s bellringer, but his fourth quarter stretch to put the game away was equally impressive. After a quiet third, Tyrese ripped off 13 fourth-quarter points to put the game away for his team and set a new personal career-high for points in a game. Just an insane shotmaking performance from the Kentucky guard.

De’Anthony Melton: 13 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 steals

It has been a really good week for De’Anthony Melton. Other than his steals, Melton’s box score numbers don’t really jump out, but he had a really good night doing the little things in his first start for the Sixers. He shot just 6 of 15 from the field, including a couple of missed bunnies he’d definitely like to have back, but it felt like all five of his rebounds ended a big possession for Toronto or kept one alive for the Sixers. He was super disruptive on the defensive end. His five steals don’t tell the whole story as he caused a ton of deflections as well.

Matisse Thybulle: 6 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks

A classic Matisse performance in a game that saw him get his first real run of the season. With the amount of small-ball lineups Philly ran in this game, Doc Rivers ran a ton of zone defense which meant a ton of Thybulle. His impact was felt, as this was easily Philly’s best game from a perimeter defense standpoint, and he was able to add something on the offensive end by going 2 of 5 from downtown on the night.