PhilBlackson wrote:I think they go hand in hand....imo the winning is as sustainable as Maxey's health & ability to go full throttle game in and game out (assuming he has a good enough roster around him to compete).
Right, but we know this is unsustainable, so it's more of a "when" than an "if" at this point. And it isn't as if he's especially durable to begin with, either.
He basically needs to act/play something like a "poorman's Steph", obv he's not as focused on the shooting as he's not THAT level of shooter but he's faster off the dribble and maybe make up for some of it in that way. But if he could sustain his health & conditioning, with the right defensive pieces etc, I think PHI could be a legit contender if constructed the right way. I doubt there's many takers for Embiid but I think you can win with Maxey, but they just need to create a different roster & system to maximize what he can do.
I don't think Steph is the comparison. Maxey is all on-ball, he's younger and more athletic and as you say, not the same kind of shooter. I don't think of Maxey as a #1 option on a contender, either. He hasn't scaled up in a way consistent with that sort of player at higher usage. But the Sixers can almost assuredly build a good team, like a solid second round-exit kind of team, around him. He's just too small and not a transcendent player, you know what I mean? He's not Shai (who is larger anyway) and he's not Steph, and it takes a truly spectacular player to be that focal piece for a title at that size.
He's good, though. He'd be a magnificent second option on pretty much any team. And if you imagine him next to someone like, say, Jokic? Good Lord. If Joker had Maxey instead of Murray, Denver would be laughing for years.
*INGRAM*ALLSTARSEASON* Wemby is HIM
