Tyrese Maxey is set to miss the Sixers’ next two games after medical testing revealed that he had suffered a sprain of the right fifth finger. He will continue to undergo testing and consultation over the next few days as he, the team and the medical staff determine a treatment plan for the injury. An additional update is expected to come after the team’s upcoming back-to-back, the team said.
Maxey collided with teammate Adem Bona late in the final seconds of the team’s Saturday night loss to the Atlanta Hawks. From the moment of impact, it was clear Maxey was shaken up, from writhing in pain on the court to covering his hand with his jersey as he made his exit.
Immediately following the game, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse indicated that Maxey would undergo X-rays on his right hand that evening and an update would be provided when available. The Athletic’s Tony Jones reported that Maxey was later seen eating in the locker room with no noticeable wrap or restriction on his hand, and that he would undergo further testing the following day.
Maxey missing two games is significant for a Sixers team that is currently facing the NBA’s play-in tournament. It’s also worth noting that, barring future injury, Maxey’s chances of qualifying for season awards and All-NBA teams will survive this injury, as he’s already played in 61 of the required 65 games. Still, considering the initial concern around the injury, this is among the best-case scenarios for Philadelphia.
The Sixers have 19 games remaining this season. While every game counts, the loss of Maxey for two games, during which the team will already be missing Joel Embiid and Paul George, is something that can be overcome. However, that assumes Maxey will miss just two games. As recently seen with Joel Embiid, just because a player is initially ruled out for a certain timeframe does not mean their absence is limited to that timeframe.
Maxey’s status will be updated after the team’s Tuesday night home matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies. The return of the two-time All-Star can not come soon enough, however, as he’s proven to be indispensable for the team, averaging 29.0 points, 4.1 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 2.0 steals this season.
Unless otherwise stated, all stats included in this article are via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass, Basketball Reference or Team Rankings. All salary information via Spotrac.
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