Maxey was expected to miss several weeks with a hamstring injury originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Sixers will have to continue to wait for all members of their star trio to be active.
A team official said Thursday night that an MRI confirmed All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey has a strained right hamstring. He will be reevaluated in about a week, according to the official.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported earlier Thursday that Maxey was expected to “miss a few weeks.” John Clark of NBC Sports Philadelphia confirmed that report.
Maxey was excluded in the fourth quarter of the The Sixers loss Wednesday night against the Clippers with an injury the Sixers described at the time as “right hamstring pain.” Even with that early departure, Maxey remains first in the NBA with 39.7 minutes per game. He averaged 27.6 points, 3.9 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.4 steals for the Sixers, who sit at 1-6 heading into Friday night’s matchup against the Lakers.
The Sixers are 26th in offensive rating and 28th in net estimate. Paul George played in two games after injuring his left knee during the preseason. Joel Embiid appeared in zero. He has two games to serve from an NBA suspension for pushing Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes last week in the Sixers’ home locker room.
Clearly, the team has seen sunnier times.
Without Maxey, the Sixers are expected to elevate rookie Jared McCain to a bigger role. Excluding two-way contract players like Jeff Dowtin Jr., the other guards on the team’s roster are veterans Kyle Lowry, Eric Gordon and Reggie Jackson.
Lowry started before George’s return and is a logical candidate to replace Maxey as the Sixers’ No. 1 point guard, especially considering their struggles thus far to run a cohesive, crisp half-court offense. The 38-year-old will do his best to organize the team and eat up some of the many minutes that usually go to Maxey.
