Tyrese Maxey is back in the Sixers’ starting lineup — and might be there to stay
Maxey, who was supplanted in the starting lineup after suffering a foot injury, has shown that he's worthy of a starting position. He replaced De'Anthony Melton, who has struggled of late.
DALLAS — Tyrese Maxey is back in the 76ers’ normal starting lineup.
The shooting guard started alongside Tobias Harris, P.J. Tucker, Joel Embiid and James Harden in Thursday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center.
This marks the first time all five players were in the starting lineup since a 133-114 home loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Jan. 12.
At the time, the starting backcourt of Maxey and Harden had been a defensive liability, causing concern about how coach Doc Rivers would handle the pairing.
The Sixers needed Maxey to start in their Jan. 14 victory over the Utah Jazz because Harris was sidelined. But that changed in the next night’s victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. In that game, the Sixers went away from their season-opening starting lineup for the first time when all five players were healthy and off minutes restriction.
Instead, Rivers went with a lineup of Harris, Tucker, Embiid, Harden, and De’Anthony Melton. Melton has struggled as of late and was the odd man out on Thursday. By contrast, with Embiid out in Wednesday’s victory over the Miami Heat, Maxey shined while starting alongside Harden and Melton in a three-guard backcourt.
A day later, Maxey was back in the starting lineup.
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