Tyrese Maxey Goes Nuclear In NY

Yo Philly… how you livin? Usually I know the answer when I ask that question but this morning I really have to ask… you good Philly? I mean I know the Sixers won an outrageously impressive, season-saving game last night, I get that, that’s not what I’m asking. I’m asking if you guys are good with it. Like, are you even happy about it? It's hard to tell.

Are you happy your Sixers erased a 6 point deficit in the last 30 seconds of regulation? And then managed to rip the game away from the Knicks in overtime, all with the season on the line? Are you happy Tyrese Maxey lost his damn mind and went nuclear and somehow got this series back to Philly by putting on a laser show at MSG?

Because it seems from here like that amazing win is getting in your way, Philly fan. It looks from here like that incredibly gritty, gutsy, massively impressive performance from your Sixers last night is really jamming up your process. Your process being, hate on The Process. Your process being, hate on your own team. Oh, and also make a buck off this playoff run by selling your tickets to a Knicks fan.

Aha, THAT’S why it’s a great morning for Sixer fan, you guys have another game to pawn tickets for to New Yorkers. I see you working, Philly. I get it now.

Look, Philadelphia, you know I love you and as I’ve explained before, that’s why I have to give it to you straight. You would definitely do the same for me, I know that much, and that's why I love you. And if I’m being straight with you, it has to be said, it's such a terrible look to quit on a team with zero quit in them. It was already a terrible look before last night, and then last night your own team showed you up. Y'all no showed for them in Game 4, then they turned around and showed you up in Game 5. 

You know, you quit on this team and let Knick fan invade your house and eff bomb your MVP. Admit it, a bunch of you probably even joined in the chants too.

Admit it Sixer fan, you kinda loved hearing that. But what did your team do in response? Did they pack it in? Did they give up? Did they go 1, 2, 3 CANCUN! 1, 2, 3 CABO! 1, 2, 3 TURKS AND CAICOS? 

No, they did not. They went into MSG, into that den of unhinged chaos, and they grinded out an unbelievable win. Helped in large part by the Knicks buh buh buh’ing the game away, yes, but still an unbelievable win.

And of course the most credit goes to my man Tyrese Maxey. The brass set on this dude... that was a straight up superstar performance. 46 points, 9 dimes and clutch bomb after clutch bomb after clutch bomb. Including the four point play that bailed Philly out of a 6 point hole in the last 30 seconds of regulation.

Maxey took this team that was left for dead BY ITS OWN FANS in a muddy ditch by the side of the Jersey turnpike and he put them on his back and carried them to a season saving win. And when they needed their MVP in OT, Joel stepped up big time on both ends to help close the deal. And I guess ruin Philly fan’s big plans to bury their own dude again.

Admit it Sixer fan, don’t even try to deny it. You were all ready to destroy Joel over the 9 turnovers or the fact that he missed the shoot around yesterday with a migraine or any number of your other grievances. You were locked and loaded to unleash on the dude when the Sixers were down six in the last thirty seconds. You all know it's true.

You were gonna gloss right over the fact that Joel went out there when it mattered and battled through 48 tough minutes. You were all gonna gloss over the fact that he had 19 points and 16 rebounds and 10 assists and 4 blocks… just to focus on the 9 turnovers.

And I know that's all true because even after that gritty performance and amazing win, you STILL found something to get all bent and butt hurt about it anyway. Philly is all up in their feelings this morning that after the game, Joel went all east coast Randy Newman and professed his love for New York City. 

Yeah yeah I know Philly fan, NOT THE TIME right? Not the time for Joel to flash his inner Troel. Not the time to be praising New York, because you want him to be praising you. 

You get to hate on him and you get to sell your tickets and abandon the team, but he doesn’t get to say he loves New York. He doesn't get to say that he loves the EFF EMBIID chants, even though you were the ones who abandoned the team and allowed those chants to fill your own arena.

Glad to see that Joel is embracing being the villain though and having fun with it. Because that's really his only option. Being the villain is his only role right now, somehow. He's the villain to Knick fan AND he's the villain to Philly fan AND he's seemingly the villain of social media. He's like the ultimate sports villain right now. Even if it DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE.

A villain to his own fans, even though he's the one who dropped 50 with the team down 2-0 in this series and then guaranteed the Sixers would come back, remember this? 

Sixer fan was distracted by his bad body language though so they didn't hear that badass guarantee. Except come to find out, that bad body language wasn't bad body language at all, it was the dude dealing with a medical issue. 

Which he's still dealing with. In addition to his knee problems, which stem from rushing back from meniscus surgery. But let's ignore all of that and the fifty piece and the triple double last night and the guarantee and the grittiness and effort he's showing every night in the face of all these things. Let's just ignore all of that and turn this dude into the universal villain. The guy everyone loves to hate.

I just don't get it. And look around the league, by the way, check out all the superstars who just shut it down. Who are sitting and watching the playoffs. Who would have taken any of Joel's injuries and just called it a season. Nobody knocks those dudes. They all just come for the guy leaving it all out there for his team.

So yeah, Sixer fan, I actually do expect you to show up on Thursday. I expect a lot fewer tickets pawned. I expect you all to come crawling back. Because I know deep down you love your teams more than you love yourselves. And I love that about you. 

But you quit on a team that has no quit. And I thought you were better than that, Philly fan. Just like Joel said after Game 4, this is supposed to be a sports town. He's not wrong guys. But I know, I know, eff Embiid right? 

Instead of saying “F- Embiid”, you should come correct and say “I F-d up”.

Take a page from NY Knicks big man, Mitchell Robinson.

Not only did he foul Maxey on that four point play, he let Maxey get off the 3 to tie the game.

Here’s Mitchell after the game.

[insert - https://twitter.com/sny_knicks/status/1785507828439883782 ]

“Just take it like a man. I f--ked up. S--t, just got to be better next game. “

Good on Mitchell. “I f-d up.” That’s all you gotta say. Don’t blame the replay center or make excuses. Just own it and move on.

But damn… Maxey with 7 points in 17 seconds is ridiculous. 

[insert pxp Maxey 4 pt play & then game tying 3pter]

Knicks fan, when does Maxey replace the Trae Young hate?