You cannot make this stuff up. Just as the Philadelphia 76ers appeared to be getting healthy, they were punched in the gut with another setback. After coming up lame and sustaining a hamstring injury against the Los Angeles Clippers Wednesday, Tyrese Maxey is expected to be on the shelf.
On Thursday afternoon, ESPN’s Senior NBA Insider Shams Charania reported that Maxey will miss “a couple of weeks.” This news comes in the wake of Paul George just making his debut Monday against Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns.
Shortly after reporting the news on social media, Charania appeared on ESPN’s First Take to fully break down and discuss the situation:
“I’m told that Tyrese Maxey will have a full evaluation later today but the sides are bracing for him about a couple of weeks with this hamstring injury,” Charania said. “He’s a guy that obviously wants to play through everything but he will need to take his time. This is a soft tissue injury. The Sixers are going to take it very, very seriously.”
With Joel Embiid and George sidelined to start the season, Maxey was called upon to carry the team on his shoulders and take on a massive workload to start the year. Through his first seven games, he has taken the bull by the horns and is leading the league in minutes per game at just under 40 a night. Now, the Sixers will have to navigate the mine field without their star guard for the foreseeable future.
Embed from Getty ImagesFor the time being, George will now be given the responsibility of leading the charge as the Sixers’ only star, even he though he thrives more as a supporting actor. However, reinforcements are on the way. Embiid began serving his three-game suspension on Wednesday, and is expected to debut next week against the New York Knicks.
Because of injuries, Maxey and Embiid’s time on the court together was significantly lessened, playing in only 36 games as a duo last season. Philadelphia went 29-7 in those games.
Following this update on Maxey, it looks like the league and its fans will be waiting even longer for the debut of the Sixers’ new big three.
