Net Rating: +11

Athleticism / Frame Overview: Good hip fluidity / mobility with good hip turns – hip turn drills could help untap just a little more quickness on the flip here and speed them up (though they are far from slow, as is). Quick reactions (especially with hands – very active and very quick). Moves well laterally with quick and nimble feet – does a good job covering a lot of ground pretty quickly. Strong frame with good balance – probably has some room to add good weight without reducing athleticism. Uses his physicality at point of attack and on drives against similarly sized players (though bigger ones can move him). Very good body control and has good balance in general. Wingspan, though good for his size (6’6, +3.5), is still below average for a PG (6’6.5). On the flip side, his standing reach of 8’3.5 is an inch above average for a PG and 1.25 inches below average for a SG – so his reach is solid (which explains his ability to contest well on drives).

Mentality Overview: Competitive on both ends. Smart, not someone who plays outside of his comfort zone on offense – plays within his role (which is why he’s taking threes, despite not hitting them at a high clip). Defensively, he’s not a gambler off ball. However, he is opportunistic – selects his spots well when to shoot the gap or make a play away from his man and very often connects on these.

Offensive Role: Scoring guard. Not someone you want running an offense given his average vision and not great feel for passing. Not someone you want running PnRs for, though a more spaced floor might help unlock some roll passes…which would be a threat given his touch on lobs. Should be able to play off-ball and on-ball pretty comfortably, but on-ball would be more of a scoring load and not as a creator role. Should be played next to other primary creators who can get looks for teammates, whether it’s a big, another G, or a wing…otherwise, he’d have to be in an offense that has a system that manufacturers looks, because Maxey is not someone who can really do that. (Though it should be noted that Calipari’s system tends to pigeon-hole players into roles, thus masking some potential skills they might have had but were unable to show…so, it is possible that some of Maxey’s playmaking has been hindered because of Calipari’s system.)

Defensive Role: POA defender with the ability to defend PGs and probably some SGs, but bigger players can take advantage of him. He’s strong with a good base, but length is only average for a PG and reach is below average for a SG (above for a PG, though). Will likely not be switchable beyond some 3s. Can be a defensive playmaker if he’s given more free reign on defense, but tends to be an opportunistic team defender, only taking chances when he knows he can capitalize…which, given his instincts, is something he should do more often. Good team defender.

Offense:

Synergy Profile: scoring : 65 possessions + assists : 66

Shot Chart in HC:

Not including post ups or putbacks (missing two games):

Finishing: Nice finisher around the rim with a really soft touch. Can finish in traffic / through contact, crafty finisher with good body control (nice job contorting body, avoiding defense, and making awkward angled shots), and can finish with either hand. Has the strength to dislodge (like-sized) defenders on drive and has shown ability to push back against rim protectors, too, making the finish after. Nice job shielding the ball on drives and finishes from his defender and help – uses his body and the rim to help protect the ball on attempts, in addition to using his long arms. Loves going to the reverse layup – this really showcases his awareness of avoiding the help defense / rim protection, body control, high-level/elite touch, and use of length. Does not have elite burst off the bounce from a standstill dribble, but shows flashes catching and attacking off the catch (rip and go) and picking up acceleration as he heads downhill. Doesn’t have a great first step going downhill (some flashes, including from a standstill), but uses his body well and keeps the defender off of his path / away from a potential contest. Prone to having the ball stripped on drives – despite his strong frame, he has to be stronger with the ball on drives and when he’s bringing the ball up for a shot at the rim. Once he’s already in the air, he does a nice job using his strength / same goes for him using his strength to keep defenders off of him (dislodging).

Shooting: Good shoot projection going forward – high FT%, prior shooting percentages from 3, no major mechanical tweaks, and high-level/elite touch in / around the paint. The C&S numbers are low (14/60 all C&S 35% adjusted FG%, 13/47 no dribble C&S 41.5% adjusted FG%), but I wouldn’t worry that much. Though there are some tweaks needed to the mechanics, Maxey’s form is pretty compact, straightforward with no major moving pieces, and no hitch – his shooting elbow is not flaring, he looks pretty relaxed on the catch through the follow through, and does a nice job staying balanced through the release with good pre-shot prep and does a job angling feet (or at least right foot) to the basket on most jumpers, and gets good elevation on the jump. However, his release is a little low, going from the natural dip to get into rhythm (which I’m OK with); bringing the ball up starting his release mechanics around his chin and (what looks like) following it up in front of his eyes (blocking his line of sight); and releasing the ball in front of his body, a little above his head but straight out, and with minimal arc. (See pictures below.) If he is able to make these adjustments, given his FT% and touch, he should be a good shooter going forward.

Shot Versatility: Has good shot versatility. As mentioned above, there is a somewhat safe shot projection going forward based on his prior shooting percentages from 3 in AAU, FT%, and solid form (though the release point has to be brought up a bit and he has to stop shooting out – use more arc). Based on the shot selection, he should be able to develop into a pretty solid C&S player on good volume. Although he is not used off screens that much at Kentucky, I do think he will be able to develop it going forward – he’s flashed some movement shooting / shooting off screens, has a quick set (from lower body and footwork through the release), and does a nice job reading the screen and the defender. Going back to his AAU/HS tape, Maxey has shown the ability to shoot off the bounce – he has shown the same ability at Kentucky, though the sample size is small – 17/43 shooting, and 15 of the makes were off the bounce from 2 … which shows potential 3 level scoring (and an in-between game from the rim to three) if the three point shot comes around. Comfortable pulling up off either hand, but is more comfortable going off his right – 10 makes going right, vs 5 going left. Does a nice job getting squared up, staying balanced off the bounce, and getting set and releasing quickly (setting and shooting off his right appears to be a little quicker). He has a suddenness to his off the bounce game that takes the defense by surprise. His ability to go off the right could be a legit weapon because of his finishing ability – most players prefer pulling up off the left and driving with his right. However, if he is able to show the ability to shoot off either hand comfortably (especially his right hand), defenses will not be able to expect a certain shot as he’s dribbling, which could open up better looks off the bounce and at the rim.

Self-Shot Creation: Not much of a creator for himself off the bounce. His handle and first step limit his potential here, as he is not particularly advanced in terms of handle repertoire / ability to piece together multiple moves and lacks elite burst. He can take bigs / mismatches off the bounce going downhill, but does not create much separation (though he can get some); against wings, he creates little to no separation, often settling for contested jumpers or other shots with the defender draped on him. When trying to ISO against Gs/SFs, he settles for runners because he does not have the quickness and acceleration to beat his man to the rim. Though he has nice touch on runners in general, these are still tough shots to take and make. Sets up drives and jumpers with crossovers / hesitation-crossovers, but does not create enough space on drives to get clean looks at the rim – goes to runners.

Shot IQ: Solid shot IQ. Even with the low percentage from 3, he is the only viable outside shooter on Kentucky and his role is to space the floor…which he does. 51% (109) of his shots in the halfcourt have been jumpers (60 C&S attempts against 43 off bounce Js), which might seem like a high number for an inconsistent shooter like he is, but again, it’s role / team based. What I like about the jumpers are the way they are split – he is not only a shooter from the outside, as shown by his shot distribution – 63% are from 3 (17/69), and the remaining are from midrange (16/40). Maxey is comfortable taking the shots the defense gives him, including pullup jumpers where he is 7/15, instead of forcing specific looks. He might miss an extra pass or force a shot at the rim when a better opportunity might be available, but he’s rarely forcing straight up bad looks. Can force some looks when isolating due to lack of elite burst / handle.

Handle: Basic handle, not advanced in terms of arsenal. Does a nice job shielding the ball from the defender on drives and, generally speaking, being strong with the ball – hard to get a good angle on him to poke it away. It gets away when his handle gets a bit loose because he’s moving too quickly, trying to piece together too many moves, etc. He can hit the defender with crossovers (nice job making quick moves here, not fully planting before crossing getting the defense off guard), in-and-outs / hesitations (likes going to these – common for him to use after a cross), and spins, but he does not piece together multiple moves often on the way to getting a look for himself or his teammate (though there have been some flashes, including crosses into spins). Solid crossover and has shown flashes using it dribbling at full speed. Shifty with his handle heading downhill – body moving, good footwork / Euro-step, etc. Handle can get away from him when he’s moving too fast and tries to make a dribble move, or off balance. Left hand needs work – it’s not bad, but you can tell it’s not as tight and controlled as his right hand. Needs to be stronger with the ball on drives – he does a nice job using his strength elsewhere on drives (taking contact, dislodging, etc), but he is very prone to getting stripped…and driving into lanes that aren’t there. When his handle is under control, he does a nice job moving from his handle into his shooting motion (with nice suddenness).

Passing: Reactive passer – sees the court then decides what to do with the ball. Average vision. Does a pretty good job making quick decisions off the bounce and hitting an open player with a good / accurate pass, but he forces passes quite a bit. Very nice touch on lobs (though he can get too greedy at times and force a lob that shouldn’t be attempted). Good decision-maker in transition. Does a nice job attacking closeouts to get into the paint for lobs (16 lob assists, 2 in transition), drop-offs, and kickouts. Love his ability to drive, stop on a dime, and pivot for a pass to a shooter on the perimeter. Flashed a few live action passes this year, but they were not whip passes – one that popped most was an assist to a baseline cutter. Passing “feel” is not great – will often take an extra step or dribble instead of kicking when the open man presents himself, and other times will force a pass without getting the correct angle.

PnR (General): Not an advanced PnR player – not someone who manipulates the screens beyond a rejection here and there (not often) or a hesitation / in-and-out dribble. He uses the screen way more often than he goes away from it – 12 of 73 shooting possessions involved a rejection and of the remaining 70 PnR plays (passes), the number of rejections was at most 12. When he’s really heading downhill, he is almost certain to take it all the way and attempt the finish – not someone who will adjust on the fly and read the defense quickly on the move. Would like to see him play with pace a little better and use change of pace to get the defender off balance – could be an equalizer against his non-elite burst.

PnR Passing: Did not show much PnR passing ability. Though he did show the ability to take both defenders with him at the top of the key, his reads were not very good or quick (though he did flash a few over the head passes to the screener when the screener slips and the big defender stays high). He’d almost always go to the spotup shooter…but when he hit the screener, it was almost exclusively on a pop. Did not look to attack the paint or put pressure on the rim on drives. Prone to taking an extra dribble when there is an open pass available without the dribble. He does a nice job taking the extra dribble (bringing the extra defender with him) and pivoting back to hit the screener – this is probably his best PnR skill right now (at least what he has shown thus far at Kentucky) and it could open up a good amount of PnPs with capable shooters. He can hit over the head passes (hooks over the head, basically), but that’s about the most advanced he’ll get. Did not hit the roll with a pocket pass leading to a shot / turnover as of February 19, 2020.

PnR Scoring: Comfortable and efficient scorer off the screen. As with passing, Maxey heavily prefers using the screen – however, he did flash aa few times where he faked using the screen and was able to catch the POA (and big defender) off guard. Nice job attacking the big if there is a switch – can get into the paint here. Does a nice job looking for the screen to get the defender leaning and attacking from a standstill when Maxey sees the defender leaning / taking his eyes off Maxey. Projection as a three level scorer in the PnR – he is already a great finisher at the rim, but has to work on his jumper a bit more. He can shoot off the bounce already from midrange, but needs some work from deep. As his shooting improves, this should come in time.

Assist Chart:

Defense:

Synergy Profile (I know there is a lot of noise here, but this is just added information): 81st Percentile

Defensive Shot Chart (A lot of noise, but interesting. Paint = as primary and secondary defender. Missing 2 games)

Awareness / Team Defense: Good awareness on the perimeter and interior (though size limits his rim protection potential as a help defender). Does a good job with his positional help defense and rotates well. Tags and recovers, stunts (forcing guys to change directions, pick up dribble, etc), hands usually out, head is usually on a swivel keeping track of his man and the ball, and he is quick to react to help situations when there is an open man 1 pass from the ball – nice job anticipating where the next pass will be. I really like his digs – active, quick hands reaching in and pulling back, making drivers uncomfortable / forcing them to pick up dribble, etc. Has not been a huge defensive playmaker this year for Kentucky (and his 1.4% steal and block percentages line up to Malik Monk’s at Kentucky (1.6% and 1.5% respectively) and his 2.8% total STOCKs is the lowest of any 6’6 player and smaller under Coach Calipari…which is not a good sign. Two things to note. First, he’s opportunistic with his steal attempts – he picks his spots and does not gamble much, but when he does go to make a play, he does a nice job making the correct decision in doing so. Second, in AAU and with FIBA, Maxey showed defensive playmaking prowess both on ball and off ball, showing the ability to jump passing lanes and protect the rim (on and off ball a little), being the only player in EYBL with 30+ steals and 15+ blocks.

Rim Protection: Not a bigtime rim protector due to size, frame, and limited pop from a standstill but can make smart rotations to help deter. He can be bumped off his spot in the paint even if rotating properly and his wingspan, though good for someone his size (+3.5 ish wingspan) is still below average for a PG as of his last measurement. On ball, he does a good job protecting the rim on drives from the side and from behind. Nice timing and ability to change from moving laterally / in a straight line to jumping. Avoids contact by jumping up (and sometimes away from the brunt of the contact) with his hands straight up. However, an issue here on drives is he can get bodied by bigger players, so he can be sliding and in proper positioning to contest, but be bumped off his spot. This may improve as he gets stronger and fills out a bit more (he’s strong already, but has a good frame), but it is something to pay attention to. Against similarly sized players, Maxey does a nice job taking contact and maintaining his position – he can absorb contact well both on the move and when rotating when in proper position and has his legs under him. If his hands are reaching or down instead of out, he is also easier to bump off spot – balance is off here.

PnR Defense: Nice PnR defender at the point of attack. Does a nice job shifting his feet and playing both the screen and the rejection. Gets skinny going over the top (though might get a bit too high sometimes). Can relax on occasion at the POA, but it does not happen often. Has the strength to take the hit and power through screens – when he’s caught from behind, he does a good job getting back into the play. Uses length well taking away passing lanes and contesting from behind / the side. Effort really pops here – if he gets through first screen and is re-screened, he’ll try to get through the second and if he bites on a move and jumps the gun a bit, he’ll try to get back. Probably not switchable unless he gets a good deal stronger (which is possible given his frame), but might be able to switch, wait for a scramble switch, and then get to a new assignment.

Shot Contests / Closeouts: As mentioned above, he does a really nice job stunting / digging and recovering to his man – really love his activity off ball in team defense. However, he can sometimes get a bit too eager on help situations and will end up either scrambling to the shooter or slightly delayed. In terms of getting out to the shooter, he generally does a nice job staying controlled on his closeouts…but they are too controlled – doesn’t always fully close. He’s had some fantastic flashes closing, planting his lead foot, and beginning the slide / hip turn immediately, getting to the ballhandler as he’s putting the ball on the floor – same goes for perfect closeouts, with a quick hip turn going from close to moving laterally. However, he can sometimes take a bad angle here and give up a pretty straight line to the basket instead of angling thee ballhandler a bit higher and more parallel to the baseline. If the ballhandler is able to get the lane on him, he does a nice job getting back into the play with his length and ability to control lead foot to plant off and recover immediately. Closes out with correct hand. All in all, love the help defense, has some fantastic closeouts / reaction closeouts where he’s adapting to the ballhandler putting the ball on the floor, but would like to see him get a bit closer to the shooter on closeouts – trust the hips and reaction time more.

Off Ball Defense: Good footwork and technique. Can ball watch a bit, but does a nice job dipping shoulder and trying to fight through screen. Usually finds the correct angle to get to the man if his man is flaring – quick to the shooter with the shot contest. First step is around the screen and Maxey does not use another step to help get around – it’s very fluid and a two-step / foot movement: plant before the screen and then plant outside and explode. Screens can bounce him off his matchup and set him back chasing his matchup off the screen, though…but he does a nice job trying to get back to his man, when possible. If Maxey were to get a big stronger, this could be less of an issue. When he is able to get through, he does a nice job getting right to his player receiving the ball using a good angle, quickness, and length to make the player uncomfortable.

Man (ISO) Defense: Good isolation defender with quick hips, quick feet, quick hands. Elite control of his feet / lower body. Does a getting in his stance and mirrors well on the perimeter. Ready to move, good balance, and looks like he has good weight distribution on his feet (from 3/4 ish of the foot instead of resting on heels). However, he is prone to have too wide of a stance…which makes his first step slower than it otherwise would be. In addition, he is prone to crossing his feet on his first move – he appears to self-correct on some drives and either stops the cross short or tries to limit the crossing. Does a nice job getting the ballhandler to drive to the side Maxey is forcing him to – this gives Maxey a “head start” on lateral movement. Quick to react to the shot going up, but his hand is not always ready to contest – contests with the correct hand on jumpers, which is a nice little detail. When flipping hip from a standstill, prone to bringing hands out, slowing him down on the turn…as it leaves an unnecessary moving part. Can get bodied / dislodged on drives by players heavier than him, but against similarly sized players, he does a good job standing ground – core strength, strong chest, and strong legs help him maintain his space. Can improve ability to change direction multiple times on a drive, but he does a nice job stopping his feet short when necessary to prevent an open hip and angle to attack – basically goes from hip turn prepping for full hip turn to half turn just past neutral. If taken off the bounce, he does a nice job getting back into the play and using his length to affect the attempt. Can bite on some ball fakes / dribble moves. All in all, his man defense is solid – he has to get stronger, but he’s fundamentally sound (besides some foot crossing issues), and has really impressive footwork flashes and foot control. Has the potential to be a high level PG / CG / small 2 defender – if he were a bit stronger and longer, he’d have a bit more defensive upside / versatility …but being bounced off spots is an area of concern defending up.

Footwork: Good footwork. Does a nice job flipping his hips (fluid) and has quick feet. Maxey is prone to crossing his feet on turns, but his balance is very good, which helps reduce the potential issues that come with this – such as stopping as the ballhandler goes downhill full speed. Maxey’s elite control of his feet / body make it easier for him to stop and go, despite crossing his feet, turning flipping his hips too far as the ballhandler changes direction, or just stopping on a dime. Does a nice job mirroring, though when his footwork gets away from him, Maxey is prone to reaching his hands out…which then throws off his balance, and often times gives the ballhandler an angle to attack. As mentioned above, very good footwork in the PnR on the whole. Can relax a bit at times, but does a nice job getting over the top with proper footwork (minimal steps), can adjust to re-screens well, and controls his feet / body really well.

Potential Switchability: As he currently stands, Maxey is probably not very switchable. As mentioned above, his wingspan is merely average for a PG and his reach, while above average for a PG, is still a little below average for a SG. However, in a pinch, because of Maxey’s physicality/competitiveness, strong legs and torso (with ability to add more weight), he might be able to switch up to some 3s. If Maxey is stuck defending 4s and 5s, help will likely be needed. If there is a switch in the PnR, he might be able to hold his ground long enough to get a scramble switch and then switch again to another assignment.

Written by Spencer Pearlman, https://twitter.com/SKPearlman, link to other pieces and in-depth reports: https://www.thestepien.com/author/spencerpearlman/