Is Tyrese Maxey playing Wednesday night vs. the Magic? Maxey is available and expected to play, but his finger injury remains a serious concern.
The Philadelphia 76ers All-Starâs lowered effectiveness could determine whether Philadelphia advances, or must play a risky second play-in against the Charlotte Hornets.
The 76ers host the Orlando Magic in the second NBA Eastern Conference play-in game, with questions on the availability of Sixers two-time All-Star Tyrese Maxey surrounding the matchup, after the leagueâs fifth-leading scorer (28.3 points per game) exited a game Friday with a flare-up of his finger injury.
Maxey suffered an injury to a tendon in his right pinky finger on March 7 when, according to an ESPN.com report, “the All-Star starter was injured in a collision with teammate Adem Bona with 16 seconds left in a loss at Atlanta. Maxey immediately grabbed his right hand, tucking it under his jersey as he walked directly to the locker room.”
If Maxey is limited at all, it could swing the outcome of the win-and-you’re-in play-in game.
What is Maxey’s Injury Status vs. Magic?
The initial prognosis for Maxey was that he would miss three weeks with the injury. Instead, the 25-year-old was back in action two weeks to the day later, after sitting out for 10 games. But he wore a splint on the injured finger.
Maxey returned to Friday’s game against the Indiana Pacers after feeling “discomfort” from the finger injury, completing the contest to score a game-high 32 points. For Sunday’s season finale against the Milwaukee Bucks, Maxey was not listed on the injury report and played 27 minutes, scoring 21 points.
But what about Wednesday’s play-in game against the Magic? This time, Maxey does appear on the 76ers injury report, according to the report submitted by the team as of 12:30 p.m. ET.
Though he is listed on the injury report with his injury described as “Right Finger; Tendon Strain – Splint,” Maxey’s status is given as “available.” That means he will suit up for the game and is effectively certain to play. At the same time, by listing his name on the report, the team indicates that there is concern over his injury status.
Maxey’s Scoring Drop After Injury
Questions loom over how effective Maxey will be as he plays through the ongoing finger injury. In the nine games he played after returning from the injury, Maxey has averaged 23.7 points, compared to the 30 points per game he averaged before the injury.
After the Pacers game Friday, Maxey discussed his willingness to continue playing despite the injury.
“The finger is a little funny, you know what I’m saying?” Maxey said, as quoted by USA Today SixersWire. “So I kind of look a little timid, but I don’t have time to be timid right now. My teammates need me. I had a talk with (player development coach) Toureâ (Murray). I just got to go out there and do it.”
Sixers Grab No. 7 Seed With Win
With a victory over the Magic, the 76ers advance directly to the playoffs where, as the No. 7 seed, they would face their longtime archrivals, the Boston Celtics, in the first round, starting on Sunday at TD Garden.
Philadelphia enters the game as 2 1/2-point favorites according to FanDuel odds. But Orlando is coming off a shocking season-finale defeat to the Celtics. In that game, Boston sat all of its top eight rotational players.
But led by 30 points from Baylor Scheierman and 27 each from Luka Garza and Ron Harper Jr., the Celtics reserves stunned the mostly healthy Magic, 113-108. A win would have given Orlando home court in Wednesday’s play-in game.
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