The Philadelphia 76ers will be without guard Tyrese Maxey for three-to-four weeks due to a bone injury in his left foot, according to CBS Sports' Bill Reiter. Maxey suffered the injury during the Sixers' 110-102 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night.
Late in the first half, after Giannis Antetokounmpo missed a jumper, Maxey grabbed the rebound and took off up the floor. As he drove to the basket, he tried to maneuver around Jevon Carter and stepped on the foot of the Bucks guard. Maxey's ankle rolled and he hobbled all the way up the steps in the first few rows of seats in serious pain. Though he stayed in the game to shoot his free throws, it was clear he could not continue, and he checked out for good at the next dead ball.
Maxey was well on his way to another stellar performance, having already registered 24 points, four rebounds and five assists when he left the game. That was the first 20-point, five-assist half of his carer, and he had scored or assisted on 36 of the Sixers' 52 points prior to his injury.
After bursting onto the scene last season down the stretch and in the playoffs, Maxey had carried that momentum into this season. In 15 games he's second in the team in scoring at 22.9 points per game, while adding 3.5 rebounds and 4.4 assists and shooting 46.2 percent from the field and 42.2 percent from 3-point land. Among third-year players, Maxey is second only to Desmond Bane in scoring.
His injury is the latest blow to a Sixers team that has had a rough start to the season in the injury department. Various ailments have already sidelined Joel Embiid for four games, while James Harden hasn't played since Nov. 2 due to a foot tendon strain and isn't expected back until early December.
With both Harden and Maxey sidelined, the Sixers will be without over 40 points per game worth of scoring. That's going to put an even bigger burden on Embiid, one that even he may not be able to handle. As we near the quarter-mark of the season, the Sixers sit in eighth place in the Eastern Conference at 8-7; if they can remain in that range until they get healthy, that would be a success.
