Tyrese Maxey may not be on the level of a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Doncic, or even Jalen Brunson, but in a first round series against Philadelphia, the Celtics will get an opportunity to test their top-5 defense. When going up against a great player, there are two schools of thought: let them get theirs and shut everybody else down, or cut off the head of the snake and the body will die.
For Boston, they might be able to do both.
When asked about defending Maxey, head coach Joe Mazzulla said,
“He can score at all three levels. He can get layups. He can get pullup twos. He can get great separation on threes. We have to be disciplined on what we’re taking away and what we’re willing to live with and we gotta be great at the things we can control, and we need elite individual defense throughout games which our guys are capable (of).”
In four games against the Celtics, the 76ers’ All-Star averaged 30 points and nearly nine assists. He’s a shifty guard that can surprisingly score the ball in the restricted area at such high speeds. With a pullup trigger behind the arc and a float game against rim protectors, he represents the type of player that gives Boston the most difficulty and the largest threat to upset them in Round 1.
The Celtics and 76ers split the first two meetings of the regular season with Maxey going off in both, shooting 52.5% from the field (61.1% from three). However, he benefitted from Joel Embiid’s presence on the floor. After appendectomy surgery, the big man is unlikely to play in the series, so Maxey becomes the de facto engine of Philly’s offense.
In the final two regular season games, Mazzulla seemed to change tactics a bit. In what became a common theme throughout the year, he tasked one of his young wings — Hugo Gonzalez, Baylor Scheierman, Jordan Walsh, or Ron Harper Jr. — to take on the opposing team’s best player. At times, that meant covering any of the topflight MVP candidates, including Victor Wembanyama.
Mind you, this is a team that fields Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Derrick White.
Maxey’s counting stats didn’t change much (26 points and seven assists per game), but his efficiency dropped dramatically. He made just a third of his shots and his free throw attempts dropped.
In that November showdown, Jordan Walsh had a breakout game defending Maxey. The Celtics would ultimately lose 102-100, but that would start a 19-game stretch with Walsh in the starting lineup. He’s had a late season renaissance in March and April, so don’t be surprised if he’s the first line of defense against the 76ers point guard.
What Walsh might give up in slight of frame, he makes up for in length and measured pursuit. Maxey hit just 5-of-17 — 1-for-9 with Walsh as the closest defender — in that November tilt with the Celtics playing predominantly in drop covering and Walsh recovering off screens and using his 7’2 wingspan to disrupt Maxey’s driving game.
In the most 76ers-Celtics regular season finale in March, Scheierman took the Maxey matchup in one of his final games as a starter before Tatum’s return. Again, Maxey shot an inefficient 12-of-34 and 3-of-10 with Scheierman as the primary defender.
Scheierman has undoubtedly improved as a one-on-one defender, but Maxey’s off night might be more a victory of team scheme over individual accomplishment. As CelticsBlog’s Nik Land pointed out earlier in the week, in Boston’s fourth meeting with Maxey, they opted to ice pick-and-rolls in order to maintain their defensive shape of protecting the rim and being ready to rebound:
While Philadelphia’s offensive identity is driven by rim pressure and isolation creation from Maxey, Boston’s defensive structure has consistently shown the ability to absorb that pressure, disrupt driving lanes, and tilt the possession battle in their favor. The Celtics’ emphasis on rebounding, physicality, and versatile perimeter defenders has repeatedly translated into control over both tempo and shot volume.
Neither Walsh or Scheierman are expected to start in Game 1 and undoubtedly, Boston will throw a myriad of coverages against Maxey to keep him on his toes. You have to imagine that Derrick White will get his healthy share of reps. With their size and strength, Brown and Tatum will also match up with Maxey from time to time.
As the perceived weakest link in the starting five, Sam Hauser will probably get targeted a few times during the series and he understands the difficulty in containing him.
“He’s a really good player obviously. He’s getting close to 30 a game. What makes him really good is that he’s super fast and he can stop on a dime. That’s hard to guard,” Hauser said. “He creates a lot for his team, but we’ll do our best to make it as difficult on him. It’s not going to be perfect every time — he’s definitely going to score some buckets — but if we’re making him work for it, that’s a win for us.”
That work starts in Game 1 at 1 pm EST.
