The injury bug continues to bite the Philadelphia 76ers early on this season. Tyrese Maxey is expected to miss a couple of weeks after injuring his right hamstring in Wednesday’s loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. Shams Charania of ESPN was first to report the news.
Just In: Philadelphia 76ers All-Star Tyrese Maxey is expected to miss a couple of weeks because of a right hamstring injury, sources told ESPN. Full evaluation coming later Thursday but sides are bracing for Maxey’s absence. Sixers will take careful approach with the injury. pic.twitter.com/sPxFnsylYF
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 7, 2024
The injury appeared to happen at some point late in the third quarter. He gingerly walked off the court and into the locker room at the end of the third quarter. The Sixers then proceeded to rule him out for the remainder of the contest.
Didn’t love the look of Tyrese Maxey walking off the court
He was ruled out with right hamstring soreness pic.twitter.com/dZbhOYgmqQ
— Sean Barnard (@Sean_Barnard1) November 7, 2024
The Sixers are already off to a horrendous 1-6 start to the season. Joel Embiid missed the team’s first six games with left knee injury management. He is in the midst of serving a three-game suspension after getting into a physical altercation with Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes. The first game Embiid is eligible to return is on Nov. 12 against the New York Knicks. Paul George recently made his return to the court after missing the first five games of the season due to a left knee bone bruise. Just when it looked like the Sixers were on the precipice of having their three stars together on the court, Maxey is now set to miss multiple weeks with a hamstring injury.
Surviving the next few weeks without Maxey is going to be incredibly difficult. The Sixers talked about wanting to load manage Embiid throughout the regular season. Their plan to load manage him will be put to the test immediately upon his return on Nov. 12. The Sixers’ first back-to-back of the season is on Nov. 12 against the Knicks and Nov. 13 against the currently undefeated Cleveland Cavaliers. Considering Maxey’s injury and the team’s poor start, the Sixers will likely consider attempting to play Embiid on both ends of the back-to-back.
It will be impossible to replace 27.6 points per game Maxey was averaging this season. However, head coach Nick Nurse is going to need to rely on veterans Kyle Lowry and Eric Gordon to step into a bigger role during Maxey’s absence. Lowry is off to a solid start this season, averaging 8.4 points, 3.4 assists and 1.4 steals in 22.7 minutes per contest. Gordon is averaging 7.0 points per game while shooting 33.3% from 3-point range.
Jared McCain, the Sixers’ rookie first-round pick, should also be in line to see an increased role. His minutes have fluctuated early this season, but the 20-year old has generally played well. McCain is averaging 6.7 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists while shooting 46.2% from the field in 11.3 minutes per game.
