{"id":336859,"date":"2025-12-08T12:02:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T12:02:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/336859\/"},"modified":"2025-12-08T12:02:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T12:02:11","slug":"%e2%ad%90%ef%b8%8f-tyrese-maxey-is-the-constant-toms-title-tiers-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/336859\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2b50\ufe0f Tyrese Maxey is the constant — Tom’s Title Tiers #8"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>(Photo by Emilee Chinn\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

For just the second time this season, the Philadelphia 76ers featured their three stars \u2014 Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey \u2014 in the lineup. Finally. Can they turn around a disconcerting trend of absent stars?<\/p>\n

Welcome to another edition of Tom\u2019s Title Tiers! A reminder: This is my subjective list based largely on objective data. This is not a pure, analytical ranking. You\u2019re here because you want to know what I think, to get inside my brain a little bit. Consider this a weekly report of what I see on film; what I glean from the numbers; what I hear on the phone; what I read in the news; what I feel.<\/p>\n

This week\u2019s featured squad: Philadelphia 76ers.<\/p>\n

A reminder that teams are listed within each tier in alphabetical order, not in order of strength. Here\u2019s a quick rundown of each tier:<\/p>\n

\u2b50\ufe0f\u2b50\ufe0f\u2b50\ufe0f\u2b50\ufe0f\u2b50\ufe0f This is a complete team, no notes.\u2b50\ufe0f\u2b50\ufe0f\u2b50\ufe0f\u2b50\ufe0f Just missing that one thing.\u2b50\ufe0f\u2b50\ufe0f\u2b50\ufe0f One move away from being one move away.\u2b50\ufe0f\u2b50\ufe0f So much has to break right.\u2b50\ufe0f Sooo you\u2019re saying there\u2019s a chance.<\/p>\n

Are we sleeping on the full squad 76ers? Should we still consider the Milwaukee Bucks a title contender?<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s get to it.<\/p>\n

Note: Stats shown through Sunday night 8 pm ET.<\/p>\n

This is a complete team, no notes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Last week\u2019s rating: \u2b50\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50<\/p>\n

Record: 23-1 | 119.0 aORtg (5th), 107.4 aDRtg (1st), +11.6 aNet (1st)<\/p>\n

Check out last month\u2019s post about OKC\u2019s clutch supremacy!<\/a><\/p>\n

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Just missing that one thing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Last week\u2019s rating: \u2b50\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50<\/p>\n

Record: 17-6 | 122.5 (1st), 116.2 (20th), +6.3 (3rd)<\/p>\n

Are we seeing the end of Nikola Joki\u0107\u2019s infamous teammate streak? I say yes.<\/a><\/p>\n

Last week\u2019s rating: \u2b50\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50<\/p>\n

Record: 15-6 | 119.9 (4th), 111.1 (3rd), +8.8 (2nd)<\/p>\n

Check out last month\u2019s piece on Houston\u2019s BullyBall!<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Share<\/a><\/p>\n

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One move away from being one move away.<\/p>\n

Last week\u2019s rating: \u2b50\u2b50\u2b50<\/p>\n

Record: 19-5 | 115.8 (10th), 113.0 (6th), +2.9 (9th)<\/p>\n

Check out last week\u2019s profile on Detroit\u2019s new throwback lineups!<\/a><\/p>\n

Last week\u2019s rating: \u2b50\u2b50\u2b50<\/p>\n

Record: 17-6 | 118.1 (6th), 116.0 (19th), +2.1 (12th)<\/p>\n

Last week\u2019s rating: \u2b50\u2b50\u2b50<\/p>\n

Record: 15-8 | 116.4 (9th), 113.5 (8th), +2.9 (8th)<\/p>\n

Last week\u2019s rating: \u2b50\u2b50\u2b50<\/p>\n

Record: 16-7 | 120.1 (2nd), 114.2 (14th), +5.9 (4th)<\/p>\n

Share<\/a><\/p>\n

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So much has to break right.<\/p>\n

Last week\u2019s rating: \u2b50<\/p>\n

Record: 15-9 | 120.0 (3rd), 115.1 (17th), +4.9 (5th)<\/p>\n

Last week\u2019s rating: \u2b50\u2b50\u2b50<\/p>\n

Record: 14-11 | 116.8 (8th), 113.5 (9th), +3.3 (7th)<\/p>\n

Last week\u2019s rating: \u2b50\u2b50<\/p>\n

Record: 13-12 | 113.8 (20th), 111.0 (2nd), +2.8 (10th)<\/p>\n

Last week\u2019s rating: \u2b50\u2b50\u2b50<\/p>\n

Record: 14-10 | 115.5 (11th), 111.1 (4th), +4.3 (6th)<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s see Franz Wagner\u2019s injury update.<\/p>\n

Last week\u2019s rating: \u2b50\u2b50<\/p>\n

Record: 15-7 | 117.6 (7th), 114.8 (16th), +2.8 (11th)<\/p>\n

Check out last month\u2019s piece on Stephon Castle\u2019s star turn!<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Give a gift subscription<\/a><\/p>\n

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Sooo you\u2019re saying there\u2019s a chance.<\/p>\n

Last week\u2019s rating: \u2b50<\/p>\n

Record: 14-11 | 114.7 (13th), 113.7 (11th), +1.0 (14th)<\/p>\n

Last week\u2019s rating: N\/R<\/p>\n

Record: 13-10 | 114.2 (19th), 114.1 (13th), +0.1 (16th)<\/p>\n

Tyrese Maxey hosted LeBron James, Luka Don\u010di\u0107 and the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night. You probably didn\u2019t think much of it. <\/p>\n

But it\u2019s very much a big deal.<\/p>\n

Maxey has not missed a game this season, a mammoth achievement when you consider the team he plays for. Maxey finally got to play with Joel Embiid and Paul George at the same time, in the same game, something that has only happened twice this season.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s why Maxey is so unique. It\u2019s not yet Christmas and there are only five stars who have played in every game this season. Maxey is one of them. Nikola Joki\u0107 is another. Julius Randle, DeMar DeRozan and Scottie Barnes are the three others. And that\u2019s it. <\/p>\n

Your mileage may vary on the \u201cstar\u201d designation but in the interest of consistency, I\u2019m using the NBA\u2019s definition of a star: a player who has been named to an All-Star or All-NBA in the previous three seasons.<\/p>\n

There are 45 such players this season and 40 of them have already missed games.<\/p>\n

We entered Sunday\u2019s games with seven stars who had not yet missed a contest, but the presumptive MVP favorite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sat out with an elbow injury and Utah\u2019s Lauri Markkanen was a late scratch with an illness.<\/p>\n

We started with 45. We\u2019re down to five.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

To put that in persective, at this time last season, there were 17 star players who had yet to miss a game. We\u2019re looking at less than a third of that total right now. At this rate, the list will be zero by Christmas.<\/p>\n

If it feels like this season has been one prolonged preseason, you\u2019re not alone. Maxey has played in every game and yet it\u2019s hard to make sense of the Sixers because entering Sunday, we\u2019d only seen Maxey, Embiid and George play together for 19 minutes. After LeBron James closed them out on Sunday, the Sixers are 0-2 with their star trio in uniform. In the latest game, Maxey, Embiid and George shot 18 of 53 combined.<\/p>\n

This was Embiid\u2019s shot chart:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

That\u2019s what shooting 2 of 17 outside the rim looks like. Oof.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to make worthwhile music when the bandmembers almost never play together. It\u2019s disjointed and unfamiliar. That\u2019s what it\u2019s like watching the Sixers. That\u2019s what it\u2019s like watching the NBA these days.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been three weeks since I sounded the alarm<\/a> over at Yahoo about the unavailability of NBA stars. The league found itself in an injury crisis, the likes of which we haven\u2019t seen in November. After a brief respite where star participation rose to 73%, it\u2019s tumbling and tumbling again.<\/p>\n

The NBA needs more Tyrese Maxeys, not Kawhi Leonards. Stars are only playing about two-thirds of their games, which means that there are anywhere from 10 to 20 stars in street clothes on any given night. Kawhi has played about 60 percent of his games this season. That\u2019s juuuust below the norm for star players.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Embiid has missed 14 games. Paul George has missed 15 of his own. All the while, Maxey has been plugging away on an MVP campaign that hasn\u2019t gotten off the ground because his teammates haven\u2019t been there.<\/p>\n

Sixers coach Nick Nurse can barely bring himself to take Maxey off the floor. He\u2019s averaging an NBA-high 39.9 minutes and no one is particularly close. Maxey has logged 917 minutes this season. That\u2019s 99 more minutes than the next star player, Evan Mobley at 818. A couple more games like this and Maxey will be the NBA\u2019s leading scorer in total points.<\/p>\n

I had to relegate the Milwaukee Bucks after Giannis Antetokounmpo\u2019s latest calf injury, so some team has to be promoted onto the list. The Sixers are on here because a) Maxey has been unreal and; b) it SEEMS like Maxey, Embiid and George are starting to get some traction ahead of a softer schedule. They were +9 in 16 minutes together against LA on Sunday. As one of only two teams officially with a star trio (Cleveland is the other), I wish I could see more of the Sixers\u2019 best playing together. I think we all do.<\/p>\n

Where would the Sixers be without Tyrese Maxey? I hope we never find out.<\/p>\n

Last week\u2019s rating: \u2b50<\/p>\n

Record: 14-10 | 114.5 (15th), 112.6 (5th), +1.9 (13th)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In alphabetical order:<\/p>\n

\u2b50\ufe0f\u2b50\ufe0f\u2b50\ufe0f\u2b50\ufe0f\u2b50\ufe0f OKC<\/p>\n

\u2b50\ufe0f\u2b50\ufe0f\u2b50\ufe0f\u2b50\ufe0f DEN, HOU<\/p>\n

\u2b50\ufe0f\u2b50\ufe0f\u2b50\ufe0f DET, LAL, MIN, NYK<\/p>\n

\u2b50\ufe0f\u2b50\ufe0f BOS \ud83d\udcc8, CLE \ud83d\udcc9, GSW, ORL \ud83d\udcc9, SAS<\/p>\n

\u2b50\ufe0f ATL, MIA, PHI \ud83d\udcc8<\/p>\n

Sorry: BRK, CHA, CHI, DAL, IND, MEM, MIL, NOP, PHO, POR, SAC, TOR, UTA, WAS.<\/p>\n

A word about the data: I\u2019m using offensive and defensive efficiency data from DunksAndThrees.com<\/a>, which is adjusted for strength of schedule (aORtg and aDRtg). Raw offensive efficiency may be skewed based on opponents, and Taylor Snarr<\/a>\u2019s data site does a good job of leveling that out.<\/p>\n