A 19-point reversal and quietly rose to first place in the Eastern Conference! You failed last season, but now you want to compete for the championship.

Since the start of the new season, there are two teams that have performed the most surprisingly, one is the Spurs in the Western Conference. The Spurs were undefeated in their first four regular season games, ranking second only to the defending champion Thunder with 5 wins and 0 losses. In fact, the Spurs showed signs of rising last season, and their winning rate once again exceeded 40% after two years. Now, with the super evolution of Wenban Yama and the growth of new players Harper, Castle and others, the Spurs have made such a strong start. Currently, their average rebounds, blocks and shooting percentage per game are among the top three in the league.

The combination of Wenban and Harper is even known as the OK duo cultivated by the Spurs themselves; when the two are on the court at the same time, the team outscores its opponents by 43.2 points per 100 offensive possessions, and its 78.6 defensive efficiency and +43.2 net efficiency both rank first in the league.

The other team is of course the 76ers in the Eastern Conference. In the latest game, the 76ers completed a 19-point reversal against the Wizards, with a record of 4 wins and 0 losses, leading the Eastern Conference. When the 76ers won their fourth victory last season, it was already November 30. Oddly enough, the 76ers failed last season, with a final record of only 24 wins and 58 losses, ranking third from the bottom in the Eastern Conference. They tried their best to build a championship lineup, but the effect was not good. The entire team was scarred, and the bench was filled with so many veterans (Lowry, Gordon, Drummond) who were about to retire.

I thought that the 76ers were about to break up and fall from the altar. Unexpectedly, they rose up strongly this season and returned to the ranks of the Eastern Conference's strong teams. In the seven years from 2018 to 24, the 76ers never missed the playoffs once.

The biggest reason why they can advance so rapidly in the new season is not because of the star Embiid, nor because of Paul George, who has an annual salary of 52 million (George has not even played yet), but because of the young guard star Tyrese Maxey.

Among the young stars, Maxi is not that eye-catching because his starting point is not high. He was only selected with the 21st overall pick in the first round of 2020. In his rookie season, he did not play much time, averaging only 8.0 points, 1.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. In the following two years, with the addition of Harden, Maxey acted more as a leading scorer and basically did not get many opportunities to practice with the ball. As Harden left the 76ers to join the Clippers, Maxey's personal data also began to rise significantly.

In the 23-24 season, he averaged 25.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game. He was selected to the All-Star for the first time in his career and won the Most Improved Player. Last season, the 76ers were helpless and Embiid George was retired early. Maxey also temporarily served as the team leader and became the team's most stable scoring point, averaging 26.3 points per game. So far this season, Maxey has averaged 37.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 8.3 assists per game, with a three-point shooting percentage of 47.4%. He has become the second player in NBA history to achieve 150+ points and 30+ assists in the first four games of the season. The first is Westbrook in the MVP season.

Regarding Maxi’s personal characteristics, he is not tall, only 1.88 meters tall. As a defender, his explosive power is not as explosive as Westbrook, Rose, and Thomas.

But Maxi's physical talent is superior to his speed and his strong breakthrough ability. He can rush into the penalty area and score points in one swipe, and it is also easy to run across the field. Because of his speed advantage, Maxi has one move that is difficult to guard against, and his pull-up jump shots are often uninterrupted. In addition, Maxi is one of the best physical players in active service and is addicted to playing. Last season, he averaged nearly 38 minutes per game. In the first 4 games of this season, Maxi averaged 43 minutes per game, ranking first in the league in terms of performance.

There is no doubt that Maxi has also joined the early discussions for MVP this season. Of course, if the 76ers want to completely turn over from last season, young Maxi alone is definitely not enough; VJ Edgecombe, the second major contributor to the 76ers' 4-game winning streak, also averaged 22.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5.5 assists in the first 4 games.

It has to be said that the 76ers still have a good eye for the draft. Last season's Demon Brother brought a big surprise, but it was a pity that he was injured midway; this season's No. 3 pick VJ Edgecombe, so far, his performance completely crushes the top pick Flagg. Edgecomb appeared to be very mature in the game, with rich offensive methods and accurate judgment on the court. He did not look like a rookie at all.

Perhaps, Embiid's recovery level determines the 76ers' upper limit this season.

In this 19-point reversal of the Wizards, Embiid played his best game in this period, playing only 23 minutes and scoring 25 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 block. Inadvertently, Embiid set another record. He became the third fastest player in NBA history to reach 25 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in a single game.

Looking at it this way, Embiid's explosive statistics are still there, but due to injury management, he can only play about 20 minutes per game. If Embiid finally fully recovers, do you think this 76ers can win the championship?