PHILADELPHIA — The Sixers played host to the Portland Trail Blazers Monday night. In a game in which the Sixers entered with just 10 players, they lost one more during the third quarter as star Tyrese Maxey took a hard fall on his back and eventually made his way to the locker room.
As the Sixers were down 74-68 to the Blazers midway through the third quarter, Maxey drove into the lane against Toumari Camara and Donovan Clingan, looking to help his team retake the lead. This game had been a massive struggle for Maxey, who was 2-12 on the night with just five points before his final missed shot of the night.
It has been reported for some time that Maxey is dealing with an injury to a finger on his right hand. Sixers’ head coach Nick Nurse has been asked about the injury on several occasions, including pregame, when he was asked whether or not the star guard was progressing at all in the healing process. Nurse’s response was not an encouraging one.
“Not much better,” Nurse said. “I did ask him. He came out for walkthrough with no tape on it. I said, ‘Where’s the tape?’ And he said, ‘Forget that tape, man.’ I said, ‘Feeling better?’ He said, ‘No.’ There you go. There’s your answer.”
This once again begs the question, why was Maxey on the floor to begin with? Over his past four games, Maxey has shot 14/69, that’s 20.2% from the field. From three, he’s made just two of his last 21 shots. Very clearly, Maxey is not healthy enough to play, and even if one is to take the team at face value when they say they are continuing to push to compete, all Maxey has done is hurt the team’s chances and now himself because of the irresponsibility of the organization.
Tyrese Maxey was officially ruled OUT for the rest of the game with a back contusion between the third and fourth quarters.
This story is continuing to develop, and more information will be made available as soon as it is known.
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