Sixers Bell Ringer: Tyrese Maxey the lone bright spot in loss to Suns

Sixers Bell Ringer standings

Joel Embiid - 26

James Harden - 17

Tyrese Maxey - 11

Tobias Harris - 5

Shake Milton - 4

De’Anthony Melton - 3

Paul Reed - 3

Georges Niang - 1

Montrezl Harrell - 1

Matisse Thybulle - 1

Jalen McDaniels - 1

It sure looked like the Sixers had tired legs, dropping the second half of a back-to-back in Phoenix Saturday, 125-105.

The Sixers had the toughest strength of schedule coming out of the All-Star break. They also play an inordinate amount of road games and some brutal back-to-backs. Unfortunately, the stretch run slate appears to be catching up.

Tyrese Maxey was the lone bright spot and kept the Sixers in the game. It’s hard to believe they were down just six entering the fourth quarter. But Joel Embiid had a rough night and no other Sixer stepped up while the big man struggled. The bench was also outscored 53-17.

The hope is James Harden returns Monday for a big matchup against Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets. Let’s talk Bell Ringer.

Tyrese Maxey: 37 points (7 of 11 from three), 7 rebounds, 3 assists

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Maxey was awesome from the jump Saturday night. He drained five threes in the first half and outdueled fellow Kentucky guard Devin Booker, scoring 21.

With Maxey’s speed and knockdown shooting, he’s a nightmare in transition.

It feels like Maxey is extending his range this year as well. He’s hit quite a few threes a couple steps from the logo this season.

Maybe the best part of Maxey’s evolution is that he is starting to understand more and more how to use his speed advantage to get foul calls. He’s still young so his whistle is a little rough at times, but plays like this are encouraging.

Maxey went 14 of 19 from the field (73.7 percent) while the rest of the Sixers shot 20 of 59 (33.9 percent). Suffice to say, Maxey was the only reason the Sixers were ever in this game.

Joel Embiid: 28 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks

Photo by Kate Frese/NBAE via Getty Images

Strongly considered making Maxey the only option. The rest of the Sixers were that bad.

But Liberty Ballers Bell Ringer is a democracy. With that said, Embiid is the only other option worth considering — despite the big man’s own struggles.

With respect to Bismack Biyombo, who had a career night, you could tell Embiid wasn’t quite right. I suppose the good news is it looked more like fatigue than the right calf tightness he’s been dealing with.

Biyombo was able to block two of Embiid’s fadeaways. Again, not to discredit Biyombo, but when have you ever seen that happen? Embiid was also short on a trail three, which simply does not happen. He didn’t have his legs after dropping 46 in San Francisco the night before.

He still managed to pull a few special plays out of his hat.