Inside Sixers: Tyrese Maxey’s three-point invite, Paul George suspension plan and more

PORTLAND, Ore. — After the 76ers’ victory at the Phoenix Suns last Saturday, Nick Nurse was still irked about the game they let slip away at the Los Angeles Lakers two nights prior.

And when the suddenly shorthanded Sixers got blasted by the Portland Trail Blazers Monday, Nurse’s quick evaluation was that his team played “4 ½ really good games.”

“Quarter here [Monday] that’s really bad, and one quarter in L.A.,” Nurse said late Monday about the 3-2 trip. “But most of it was really good basketball.”

That was all part of the Sixers’ busy week out west, which overlapped with the trade deadline. The Sixers said goodbye to Jared McCain and Eric Gordon in the middle of the trip. Joel Embiid remained dominant in the three games he played. Tyrese Maxey was invited to the three-point contest at All-Star Saturday.

» READ MORE: Tyrese Maxey leveled up to become an All-Star starter. Play along here to predict what the Sixers guard does next.

Next, the Sixers have one more game against the rival New York Knicks before the All-Star break.

“Everybody will get up for [that],” veteran wing Kelly Oubre Jr. said of the Knicks game. “Take care of that one, and we feel good going into the break.”

First, here are some additional nuggets and observations from the Sixers’ five-game trip.

Tyrese Maxey declined an invitation to compete in the three-point contest at All-Star Weekend in 2024, acknowledging he was “nervous” and wanted to soak up the experience as a first-time All-Star.

“This year, I definitely wanted to do it, man,” Maxey said Monday morning from Portland. “I wanted to be a part of that night, and I’m going to go out there and try to win.”

Maxey was announced Sunday as a participant in the event that now headlines All-Star Saturday. He has become one of the league’s most dangerous long-range shooters because of the variety of attempts he can fire off the catch and dribble, and because he has extended his range. He entered Wednesday shooting 37.9% on 8.8 attempts per game this season.

Shooting off a rack, however, is quite different than taking a shot in the flow of a game. Maxey said he has a little experience in such competitions in high school and while at Kentucky, and might spend some time practicing off the rack Tuesday night. And Sixers player development coach Toure’ Murry has told Maxey since the beginning of the season that he has “got something for me” as far as strategy with where to place the “money” balls worth extra points.

Maxey has fond memories of watching former Golden State Warriors “Splash Brothers” Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson get hot in the three-point contest. Former winners Damian Lillard and Devin Booker are also in this year’s field.

And now, Maxey is far from nervous to join them.

“Everything from that weekend and being a part of it is special,” Maxey said. “It’s a blessing, and I’m not going to take any of it for granted.”

As the Sixers walked into Santa Monica Prep for their first shootaround of this trip, Paul George was among those in attendance. George’s personal trainer also has continued to travel with the team.

George still has 19 games remaining in his 25-game suspension for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy. But he is permitted to remain around the team for practices and shootarounds.

“The organization’s equipped in any way to provide him whatever he needs,” said Nurse, alluding that George has at least partially attributed his positive drug test to mental health struggles. “ … We want to keep him as engaged on the basketball side.”

» READ MORE: Paul George is suspended 25 games for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy

Oubre, who is now tasked with making up for some of George’s production on both ends of the floor, expressed support for his teammate during this time.

“My first thought was just praying for him,” Oubre said upon hearing the news of George’s suspension. “Obviously, that’s tough, man, especially when you talk about mental health, because that’s the unseen. You see us physically, but you don’t know what’s going on in our head and in our lives.”

VJ Edgecombe said his 1-of-11 shooting dud on Feb. 2 at the Los Angeles Clippers was easy to mentally flush. But Nurse took things a step further, immediately calling the Sixers’ first couple of plays for Edgecombe in the following night’s matchup at Golden State.

That ignited the rookie guard’s 25-point outburst on 11-of-20 shooting, a significant lift as the Warriors’ defense relentlessly swarmed Maxey.

“Just to say, ‘We’re going to VJ,’” Nurse said “ … I didn’t know it was going to be that good. But I figured he’d be ready to go, and we just wanted to let him know we believe in him.”

Consider that another example of the immense — and rare — confidence Edgecombe has instantly instilled in his coach and teammates. And Edgecombe feels that reciprocated.

» READ MORE: https://www.inquirer.com/sports/sixers-trade-deadline-buyout-market-khris-middleton-lonzo-ball-chris-boucher-haywood-highsmith-20260209.html#loaded

“Once your teammates have trust in you, I feel like you can just go out there and just go hoop,” Edgecombe said. “ … You don’t have to worry about if they care if you’re missing. It’s a team game. They know I’m going to make the right plays. They just have a ton of faith in me.”

That performance also arrived in his second matchup against mentor and former Bahamian teammate Buddy Hield, whom Edgecombe playfully talked trash to after taking him off the dribble for a score. Edgecombe also jawed with fellow Bahamian teammate Deandre Ayton during Thursday’s loss to the Lakers, and said goodbye to Eric Gordon when the Sixers traded him at the deadline.

Nurse credited Gordon with helping foster Edgecombe’s poise as an immediate impact rookie.

“That type of steadiness and calmness that Eric kind of always has,” Nurse said, “I think was valuable to VJ. He probably picked some of that up.”

Adem Bona nabbed a steal against the Warriors, and had a wide-open court in front of him. The reserve center methodically dribbled and threw down the dunk, prompting a more-excited-than-usual reaction from the Sixers’ bench for a fairly routine transition bucket.

“It’s kind of a joke from the previous game [against the Clippers],” Bona said, “where I was running too fast and I fumbled the ball. I was taking my time this time. I was a little slower. … I was super slow.”

Bona’s hands have warranted critique since taking on a more important role as the backup center, whether Joel Embiid or Andre Drummond starts the game. He regularly drills those fundamentals, including before games while working with assistant coach TJ DiLeo on moving up and down the court while dribbling between his legs and behind his back.

Evidence that this is still a work in progress: He mishandled an alley-oop catch during Saturday’s victory at the Phoenix Suns.

Even NBA travel parties can get caught in San Francisco traffic. Especially while immersed in Super Bowl week hubbub before the big game played in nearby Santa Clara.

The Sixers’ team buses were more than an hour late to the Chase Center last Tuesday, throwing off pregame routines for players who are creatures of habit. Nurse secretly hoped players would ditch those warm-ups entirely, because “I’m not that big of a believer” in expending that energy on the second night of a back-to-back.

Nurse, meanwhile, used the additional bus time to flip on some film that he planned to watch in his office. And it caused him to expedite a series of meetings with various coaches that typically begin about two hours before tipoff.

“They’re just review, review, review,” Nurse said, “one last time before we take the test.”

Three days after Dominick Barlow totaled 26 points and 16 rebounds against the Clippers, he was rewarded with the Sixers converting his two-way contract to a standard deal.

The move was somewhat anticlimactic, given his impact this season as a rebounder, cutter and all-around hustle role player. And his postgame comments about the conversion were somewhat subdued, given that they occurred after the Sixers had surrendered a 14-point lead against the Lakers.

» READ MORE: Sixers convert Dominick Barlow’s two-way contract to a standard NBA deal

Yet all of that also demonstrates how much Barlow has thrived as a late signee with the Sixers, in a situation where he feels his skills are “valued and appreciated.” This career season comes after Barlow spent his first three seasons with the San Antonio Spurs and Atlanta Hawks, where he made a combined five starts and never averaged more than 14.6 minutes in those appearances.

“I feel that energy here,” Barlow said, “ … I’m just having so much fun being out there with everybody.”

Perhaps the one positive of the Trail Blazers’ drubbing of the Sixers Monday? MarJon Beauchamp got his first NBA minutes of the season, totaling 10 points, four rebounds, and four assists.

Even better: That performance occurred in the arena closest to Beauchamp’s roots that the Sixers will travel all season. The 25-year-old was born in Yakima, Wash., and went to high school in Seattle before joining G League Ignite and getting drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2022.

Nurse said he was impressed with Beauchamp’s quickness and aggressiveness to push the ball off rebounds. The coach also did not notice any glaring mistakes within the Sixers’ schemes or Beauchamp’s individual assignments. After suiting up for three NBA teams last season, Beauchamp said he was focused on playing with confidence in his first extended minutes at this level in an estimated 18 months.

“I just tried to be assertive, not think too much, and just play hard,” Beauchamp said after the game.

Added Oubre: “He did a really good job of picking up on everything, so that goes to show that he’s been studying and putting in the work and staying ready, just giving him confidence and making sure that he feels like we’re all together, he’s in this with us and not just visiting.”

Beauchamp flashed that confidence when he tried to uncork a dunk on Portland rookie Yang Hansen, who stands 7-foot-1. Beauchamp said he attempted such a feat when he was signed to a training camp deal with the Trail Blazers this past fall, but that in-game attempt was “probably the closest I’ve been” to throwing it down.

“I wanted that dunk so bad,” Beauchamp said. “Next time, though.”

Oubre on reaching the All-Star break: “We have a blank canvas on the season, and we want to create a masterpiece at the end. We’re still painting.”