Tyrese Maxey was recently on the Old Man and the Three podcast, where he had an interesting conversation with JJ Redick. They spoke on a variety of topics, including Maxey’s role on the Philadelphia 76ers, especially during the playoffs. Touching upon how demanding the post-season can be, the 22-year-old revealed some of the tough tasks he has faced during the past outings. In particular, he elaborated on the Sixers’ matchup against the Boston Celtics in the playoffs earlier this year, where he made a costly ‘Jayson Tatum mistake’ during the closing minutes of a crucial game.
Advertisement
Maxey explained how he struggled to contain the Celtics superstar after that and how the series slowly slipped away from there. This statement prompted Redick to make a hilarious joke, blaming Maxey and his mistakes for the $16,000,000 firing of Philadelphia’s head coach Doc Rivers.
JJ Redick jokingly blames Tyrese Maxey for Doc Rivers getting fired
The 2023 Eastern Conference Semi-Finals saw the Boston Celtics knock out the Philadelphia 76ers in a thrilling seven-game series. Led by Jayson Tatum, the Cs took the series 4-3. One of the major reasons that triggered the Sixers’ loss was, by his own admittance, Tyrese Maxey’s defensive gamble that didn’t pay off. These mistakes were highlighted during Maxey’s conversation with JJ Reddick on the Old Man and the Three podcast.
During the podcast, Maxey admitted to making a gamble while defending Jayson Tatum in the closing minutes of Game 6, which didn’t pay off. Instead, it blew up in his face.
Subsequently, Maxey was stifled by Tatum, who was unstoppable both in Game 6 and Game 7. As the 6 ft 2 guard spoke about how his lapse in defense cost the Sixers, it was clear to see that he still felt the sting of the lost series. But this didn’t stop Redick from pouncing on him. The former 76er jokingly pointed out that it was Maxey’s mistakes that likely led to the firing of Doc Rivers.
“So, it was your gamble that cost Doc Rivers his job!”
Maxey burst out in laughter at Redick’s joke, simultaneously defending himself from the ridiculous accusation. However, he made sure to underline the fact that even marginal errors in crunch time during the playoffs can shift the momentum of the series.
Doc Rivers currently finds himself working with ESPN
Following his poor performance in the playoffs for the past few seasons, Doc Rivers was promptly fired by the Sixers this year. He was let go after three years of serving his contract, while he still had $16,000,000 remaining from his five-year $40,000,000 contract. Currently, Rivers finds himself working for ESPN as an analyst.
His position as Sixers’ head coach has been taken over by Nick Nurse. As things stand, the Sixers are adapting well to Nurse’s coaching style and will be hoping that the 2019 NBA Champion HC can lead them to the promised land, the NBA Finals, something that Doc couldn’t do.
It will be interesting to see what the future holds for the 76ers. Hopefully, they’ll find success in the seasons to come.
