Tyrese Maxey Highlights 76ers’ Biggest Flaw vs. Raptors

Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey discusses his team's biggest flaw after losing to the Raptors.

The Philadelphia 76ers looked like they might be able to turn their season around after a slow start to the year. Last week, Philadelphia dropped three-straight games to open up the year with losses against the Celtics, Bucks, and the Spurs.

This week, the Sixers found success for the first time this season as they put the Indiana Pacers away for their first win of the year. On Wednesday, when they met with the Toronto Raptors, the Sixers looked to build on top of that momentum.

Unfortunately, the Sixers failed to capitalize and struggled to build a winning streak. After letting the Raptors get off to a quick start, the Sixers never managed to battle back and get out in front. Philadelphia had a few impressive solo performances on their team once again, but that didn't help the Sixers snag a victory.

Philly's five-time All-Star center Joel Embiid is returning to his old ways after a slow start to the season. As he drained 12 of 17 shots from the field and knocked down five of his seven free throws, Embiid collected 31 points in 37 minutes.

Meanwhile, the third-year guard Tyrese Maxey checked in for 43 minutes and went 12-21 from the field and hit on five of his seven free throws to produce 31 points, tying the game-high.

It was an inspiring performance for Maxey, who has been slightly inconsistent offensively to start the year. However, the young guard won't be satisfied until his team figures out its No. 1 issue in his eyes.

"Communication," said Maxey when asked about the team's biggest struggle after Wednesday's game. "We got to get on the same page. Sometimes it's extremely hard to get on the same page, but as long as we keep talking to each other, we gotta step in the same direction. Talk to each other and know what we're doing, know when to switch and when we're not switching."

As a whole, the Sixers are far from worried about struggles on the offensive end, as they have many weapons that can heat up on that side of the court. Defensively is where the Sixers have struggled, and for them to fix their woes, the team needs to communicate better, in the eyes of Maxey.

"It's going to come with trust," Maxey finished. "Trusting each other and communication as it keeps building throughout the season."

The Sixers acknowledged their communication and effort concerns as early as last Saturday after losing to the San Antonio Spurs. Two games later, the problem is far from fixed. After getting Thursday off, the Sixers will return to the court on Friday night to face the Toronto Raptors for a second time before they hit the road to Chicago. 

Philadelphia knows they've got a chance to defeat the Raptors to even the series, but they'll have to ensure Toronto doesn't get off to a red-hot start and tighten up on defense with better communication.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.