Tyrese Maxey is putting together the kind of start that makes the rest of the league take notice. Through eight games, he’s been the engine of a 7-1 Philadelphia start, carrying the offense and looking every bit like a player operating at an MVP level.
But the bigger story in Philadelphia isn’t just how good Maxey has been. It’s how much Nurse is asking of him.
The numbers tell the story fast. Maxey is averaging 29.1 points, 5.3 assists, and 1.8 steals per game while shooting 50.3 percent from the floor in the 2026-27 season.
He’s also logging 37.4 minutes a night, the second-highest average in the league. That kind of workload is hard to ignore, especially this early.
There’s no denying the Sixers have been rolling. The team has brushed aside any talk of early-season growing pains, and every player has seemed to settle into his role.
Maxey, though, has been the one setting the tone. Nurse has clearly leaned into his guard’s ability to lead the offense, and it’s paying off right now.
Still, November doesn’t hand out trophies. Philadelphia may be sitting at the top of the Eastern Conference, but the season is long, and the goal is much bigger than a hot start.
The Sixers need their best players fresh when it matters most, and running Maxey into the ground now could come back to bite them later. If the minutes keep piling up, the risk isn’t just a dip in production.
It’s that something worse could happen.
The good news for Philadelphia is that this roster has more options than most. Jamal Murray is the only player with a higher minutes-per-game average this season, and his situation is a different one entirely. Denver’s guard depth includes Christian Braun, Tyus Jones, and DeMar DeRozan, but those names don’t offer the same kind of comfort when Murray sits.
Philadelphia, by contrast, has a much deeper bench of capable pieces around Maxey. Jaylen Brown, VJ Edgecombe, Anfernee Simons, and even LeBron James give Nurse plenty of ways to keep the offense afloat. The team can also lean on Dean Wade, Jabari Walker, and Adem Bona in the frontcourt, giving the starting lineup flexibility across multiple spots.
The one area that remains thin is center depth, but outside of that, the Sixers have enough talent to rotate more freely. That’s what makes the current minutes load so frustrating.
The depth is there. The question is whether Nurse will actually use it.
Maxey has been brilliant, maybe even better than anyone expected this early. But Philadelphia is only eight games into the season, and the workload he’s carrying is already extreme.
With the way luck has gone around the league lately, the Sixers are taking a real gamble if they keep pushing him like this. Nurse needs to trust the rotation and give his star a chance to breathe.
In Other News...
Sixers Fans Have Seen This Before As Porzingis Saga Nears A Harsh End
Kristaps Porzingis is back in the kind of limbo that NBA fans know can turn messy fast. The Golden State Warriors are not paying his salary while he is sidelined by a health condition, and with the February 11 trade deadline approaching, his contract is still movable if the front office decides to act. For Philadelphia fans, the whole thing has an uncomfortable familiar feel, even if the details are not the same as the Ben Simmons standoff that once dominated the league conversation.
Porzingis has not asked out, but the uncertainty around his future is hard to ignore, especially with retirement reportedly part of the discussion. The Warriors can keep exploring trade options, yet the bigger question is whether there is still a path back to the floor at all. For Sixers followers, it is another reminder of how quickly a roster issue can shift from a basketball matter into something far more complicated. [Read more 🡒]
76ers Keep Rolling But One Lineup Issue Just Got Harder To Ignore
The 76ers kept their early-season surge going with a 112-106 win over the Pistons, pushing them to 8-1 and the best record in the NBA. Jaylen Brown delivered a season-high 30 points and seven rebounds, while Joel Embiid added 26 points and 15 rebounds as Philadelphia leaned on its top-end talent to close out another tight game.
Still, the rotation picture is starting to draw more attention as the wins pile up. Anfernee Simons had a limited impact with minimal playing time, and the way Philadelphia is handling that group will be worth watching as the schedule gets tougher and the margins get thinner. Even with the team rolling, the balance of minutes and roles is becoming harder to overlook. [Read more 🡒]
Hawks Frontcourt Suddenly Looks Unsettled At The Worst Time
The frontcourt picture around Atlanta has taken another hit at an awkward moment, with Dominick Barlow meeting with a specialist to evaluate his back injury and now projected to need another 10 to 12 days before he can get back to on-court work. For a team already trying to sort out its rotation, that kind of delay only adds to the uncertainty, especially with the schedule offering little time to settle things down.
For Philadelphia, the ripple effects are worth watching because Adem Bona is now dealing with a neck injury of his own and is listed as doubtful for the next game. The Sixers have been leaning on depth and flexibility in the middle, and any missed time from Bona only sharpens the focus on how these injury situations stack up across the league, from Jalen Johnsons questionable status in Atlanta to the other frontcourt returns and debuts popping up elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]