PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers continue to receive strong play out of big man Dominick Barlow who continues to be a steal on a two-way contract. After scoring a career-high tying 21 points in Saturday’s win over the Dallas Mavericks, Barlow is averaging 9.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, and shooting 53.8% from the floor.

Barlow has been a consistent player for the Sixers all season as he has been able to find his niche as energy guy in the lineup. He has been able to do a lot of different things for Philadelphia in terms of moving without the basketball to get his buckets, grabbing big rebounds, and being a versatile defender.

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Tyrese Maxey, the leader of this Sixers team, acknowledges Barlow’s unique skillset and he wants to see more from the big man.

“He does a lot of things that are just like, interesting. You know what I mean?” said Maxey. “Like, defensively, he can guard so many different positions, and then on offense, he got game. He got handle. He can finish around the rim, and I’ve just been encouraging to keep shooting them 3s. Him and Jabari (Walker) shoot them corner 3s. If guys are try to load up on us, shoot those 3s, knock them down, and make them pay.”

Barlow is shooting only 25% from deep on the season, but he did knock down a corner 3 on Saturday against the Mavs. If he is going to continue to put those shots up, then they are going to have a great opportunity of going in. It is going to take reps and constant work to become that consistent corner shooter the Sixers are looking for.

Another big thing Barlow can do is attack closeouts. He can put the ball on the floor while faking a dribble hand off with Maxey or any of the other guards and get to the basket. The star guard has encouraged Barlow to keep doing that.

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“I just told him, like, listen, we can play a two-man game if you feel like you can give me the DHO, go ahead, but a lot of times defenses are gonna be trying not to get off my body, so you’ll have that space to fake that DHO and make a play,” Maxey explained. “He’s done a really good job at that.”

The biggest thing about Barlow thus far is the fact that he plays so hard every night while showing off a high basketball IQ by being in the right spots on both ends of the floor. If he is going to continue to do this, then the Sixers are going to be big beneficiaries of what he can do.

“He’s pretty smart, man,” Maxey finished. “For somebody who hasn’t played that long, he’s really smart. He knows the game. He knows how to play out of the short roll in the pocket pass. He can make plays, he can make passes, and he can score. So, his basketball IQ is really high.”

This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Tyrese Maxey reveals what he wants from Sixers big man Dominick Barlow