Friday night, the Philadelphia 76ers took the court in Orlando for their preseason finale, a matchup against the Magic. In the Sixers’ sixth preseason matchup, the majority of the team suited up, save for Joel Embiid and the recovering Paul George and Jared McCain. Unfortunately, the team is now dealing with yet another injury.
During the Sixers’ game against the Orlando Magic, Tyrese Maxey sustained an injury to his right thumb after fouling Paolo Banchero less than two minutes into the game. Maxey would continue to hold his hand for several minutes before subbing for Kyle Lowry.
As the game continued, a representative of the Sixers informed media members that Maxey was dealing with a right thumb contusion and that Maxey would miss the rest of the game. Based on Philly Sports Network‘s current understanding, this was done as a precaution and should not affect his availability for the regular season opener on Wednesday.
Some have questioned the necessity of key players playing so late into the preseason, but Sixers’ head coach Nick Nurse told media members after Wednesday’s matchup against the Brooklyn Nets that he did not share those concerns:
“Well, I don’t think we’ve played those guys a ton, right?” Nurse said. “We’ve tried to schedule it so we could get a look at some people and a lot of people and all those kinds of things. I mean, they’re a couple of freak injuries. It’s not because they’re playing too many minutes or any of that kind of stuff. So just unlucky, and hopefully get all that unluckiness out of the way and move forward.”
Nurse’s point isn’t outrageous. Not a single Sixer ranks in the top 45 in the league in preseason minutes per game or the top 35 in total minutes played. Still, it feels almost like tempting fate to continue to roll out key veterans after the injuries the team had already seen.
Again, Maxey’s exit seems to be little more than a precaution, giving hope for his outlook for the start of the season. Still, it seems worth monitoring, and more will likely be known ahead of the team’s Blue x White scrimmage on Sunday, Oct. 20.
Updates will be provided as they are made known.
