INGLEWOOD, Calif. — And the hits keep coming for the 1-6 Philadelphia 76ers.
Tyrese Maxey strained his right hamstring against the Clippers on Wednesday night and will be out for a few weeks, story broken by ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Maxey was scoreless on 0-of-3 shooting in the third quarter and didn’t set foot on the court in the fourth, with the 76ers saying he has “right hamstring soreness.” Postgame, coach Nick Nurse continued the trend of vague messaging about injuries with this team.
“I have no idea at this point, but I’m generally just a precaution…” Nurse said after his team lost 110-98. “He kind of felt it and it was, again, the type of game, there wasn’t that much reason to try to push it tonight.”
Maxey looked like his lightning-quick self in the first half, scoring a dozen points on 5-of-10 shooting.
The injury came later, and in the third quarter, Maxey faded as the Clippers’ depth increased, which led to the loss.
Philadelphia just got Paul George back two games ago from injury, Joel Embiid will be back next weekbut now Maxey is out for a few weeks – Philly’s big three have yet to play a minute together (even in the preseason).
The temptation is to say that at 1-6, Philadelphia is digging itself a hole it may not be able to climb out of. However, the reality is that the #3 seed in the East is now Indiana at 4-4, and the 76ers are only 2.5 games behind them (outside of Boston and Cleveland, no one stands out in the East early). However, getting back into that top group will mean getting the 76ers three stars on the court for some extended stretches of the season — this team isn’t as good when they’re not all on the court, as evidenced by the team’s start — and the goals to go back in the top four mix and keep Embiid (and George) rested and ready for the finals can collide at some point.
For now, just add Maxey to the injury list.
