Originally Posted by
Pelicanidae
Oh that's more like it!
Maxey shows up with a statline that's far more what his talent level actually represents tonight, with 21 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, on 8-of-11 shooting and 4-of-6 from three. 1 turnover in 33 minutes of play. Maxey just has such a quick release. It's a little lower than would be absolutely perfect, but it's so quick that it's kind of not a huge deal. He's pin straight on the jump, which helps. He was really nailing them from NBA range too, just deep bombs. He was a strong shooting prospect prior to college so the fact that his college career started a little shaky from deep was odd to see. His FT% was still stellar, which is encouraging, but glad to see him have a game where he's really punching the 3s in again.
Some of his assists were pretty great 'feel' and instinct passes too. Obviously it's super important to be able to navigate a standard PnR and whatnot, but I am always happy when a PG prospect can throw a picture-perfect lob from 30 feet out off the dribble.
He had a few defensive possessions that reminded me a little of Klay, to be honest. Maxey sometimes uses that same ''run-along'' style of defense that Klay does, where instead of sliding his feet in a more traditional way, he keeps his head and shoulders square but turns his hips and feet towards the baseline on a drive. Isn't the perfect defensive strategy because it does mean step-backs are a little easier to get off on him, but it covers the entire off-hand side of the court from the ball handler that makes it really difficult to get skip passes off and lobs off.
Maxey actually drives, and he has some decent shake too so he becomes a real threat-to-pass, forces defenses to commit to him in a legitimate way.