With just six games left this season, the Philadelphia 76ers are quite literally limping to the finish line. The injuries continue to pile up, and the Sixers sit a massive 30 games under .500 on the year.
As the season comes to a close, Tyrese Maxey is expected to become the latest player to be ruled out for the season due to an injury. Maxey has been sidelined since March 3 against the Portland Trail Blazers after suffering a lower back sprain, but that injury was not the only one the Sixers’ young star was dealing with, as a right finger sprain had plagued him for multiple games leading up to the back injury, and it’s that very same injury that continues to affect him.
While attempting to pay through the pain, Maxey was clearly anything but himself, unable to shoot, pass, or handle the ball efficiently. The back injury could be argued not as a positive but as a necessary excuse to remove Maxey from the lineup so that he would have a chance to recover.
Maxey’s back is no longer an issue, but his finger remains troublesome, being the reason he will miss the rest of the season,
Sixers Head Coach Nick Nurse had stated that there was hope that Maxey would return in the final games of the season, but after further evaluation, that looks not to be the case. Maxey had worked diligently to return, even practicing with a splint in an attempt to play again this season, but now, he will more than likely continue to support his team from the pine instead of the hardwood.
Maxey’s expected absence marks the third player of Philadelphia’s Big 3 who was ruled out for the season due to injury. Looking back on the season, their first year together was nothing short of a disappointment. They played only 15 games together and had a record of 7-8.
