TM & VJ
It has been a rough couple of seasons for the Sixers because of injuries and questionable contracts, but there is no disputing that the organization is in excellent hands with its starting backcourt for the foreseeable future. Twenty-five-year-old Tyrese Maxey is in his sixth NBA season and has already made two NBA All-Star appearances, this year his first as a starter. Running alongside Maxey is VJ Edgecombe, selected No.3 overall last spring out of Baylor University. Edgecombe is a baby compared to Maxey, playing his rookie season at 20 years old.
Recently, both suffered injuries that sidelined them for multiple games. The team’s loss was obvious. First, Edgecombe went down. It was in the second quarter of an eventual home loss to the San Antonio Spurs when Edgecombe had his shot contested from behind. The mere presence of the defender altered his body in the air, and in an instant, he landed with a thud, flat on his back. It looked bad. Later, it was revealed that VJ had a lumbar contusion. He missed three games, but returned on March 10th with a vengeance. He finished with 21 points, five rebounds, five assists, and three steals. His numbers were great, but his leadership in the absence of his reliable running mate, Maxey, was tremendous.
“My back feels great,” Edgecombe said after the 139-129 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. “Credit the medical staff and thank God it was nothing too serious. My back feels great. I am able to move the same. It felt weird running that fast at first, but as time went on, it felt like I was back to normal.”
Life won’t be normal for at least three weeks for Tyrese Maxey. On Saturday, March 7th, in a road game in Atlanta, Maxey went for a steal with his team down by seven and with less than 24 seconds to play. His 124th steal this season, the most in any single season of his career, cost him the next three weeks of playing time. He suffered a tendon injury in the pinkie finger of his shooting hand, an injury projected to sideline him until April 1st, at the earliest.
“You can’t replace Tyrese Maxey,” Edgecombe said. “He is our number one. You can’t replace him at all. But we know he wants us to go out and hoop. Whether he is injured or not, he will support us. He will be the same person. He is not going to be a cancer. He is not going to have his head down whining.
“We are all grateful for life. We are all grateful to be in the NBA. We now have an opportunity to make a playoff push. Obviously, he has been our best player all year. It hurts for him to go down, but now everyone else has to step up. We just want him to play again before the season is over.”
To understand the magnitude of the statistical loss the Sixers have with no Maxey for three weeks, at the time of his injury, he was leading the NBA in minutes played. He was fourth in scoring, averaging 29 points per game, but he had scored the most total points this season. And he was second in steals, on average and total.
Earlier in the season, Maxey was constantly reminding Edgecombe of what he should do without hesitation in games. Those words are now even more true.
“Be aggressive,” Maxey said, speaking of the rookie. “When he gets a one-on-one opportunity in transition, just go. I don’t care what the outcome is, whether it’s a layup, a foul, or he creates a play for somebody else. Those plays, I really want him to be aggressive with. I told him I remember when James (Harden) was here, he would say to me, “This is your time.”
“He has played so many different roles for us this year. He has had to score. He has had to lead lineups. He has to guard the opponent’s best player. He is growing every single day. He has done a great job handling it all. Most rookies come in as top three picks, not on playoff teams or teams trying to win. We are trying to win, and he has done a great job wearing different hats.”
Edgecombe’s newest hat to put on: team leader from the opening tip. There is no doubt the rookie will do his best to make “his big bro” proud.
