Philadelphia 76ers rising star Tyrese Maxey is healthy again.
Per ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski, Maxey has cleared the NBA concussion protocol and will play against the New York Knicks on Tuesday. A projected finalist for the 2024 Most Improved Player award, Maxey had been sidelined for four games after sustaining a head injury against the Dallas Mavericks. The Sixers went 1-3 in those contests.
Tyrese Maxey to Return from Head Injury After Four-Game Absence
To say that Philadelphia has struggled with Maxey is putting it lightly. Not only were the Sixers able to notch just one win over the past week but in the three games that they dropped, they lost to two teams that have yet to win 30 games this season.
Cam Payne, Kyle Lowry Fail to Fill His Shoes
Reserve guard Cam Payne was particularly unable to fill Maxey’s shoes. Promoted to the starting lineup for three of those four contests, Payne averaged 12.8 points, 3.5 assists, and 0.8 steals in 25.8 minutes per game. However, he also shot a paltry 38.8 percent from the field (27.3 percent from 3).
37-year-old veteran Kyle Lowry didn’t fare much better. Due to his experience and well-rounded impact, he emerged as a starter before Maxey’s injury. Still, as a six-time All-Star and former NBA champion, there’s always hope that he can turn back the clock every now and then. That didn’t happen for the Sixers. Lowry never even attempted to take over in Maxey’s absence.
Available for just three of their four games, he averaged 9.3 points, 5.0 assists, and 1.0 steal in 32.8 minutes per game. He also shot 43.8 percent from 3-point range. Making a modest but efficient impact as he has throughout what’s been a bounce-back season for him, the best compliment that Lowry can be given is that he didn’t attempt to play outside of himself.
Just Winging It
Buddy Hield‘s role shifted with him being demoted to the second unit for a historically low-scoring affair against the Knicks on Sunday. Hield performed well, and the Knicks were the only team that they’ve defeated since Maxey’s concussion. Although nearly nobody else on the floor was able to find the bottom of the net with any efficiency, Hield shot 6-9 from the field (4-6 from 3). Ending the night with 16 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and one steal in 26 minutes, he starred in the role that the Sixers want him to play.
Outside of that game, Hield had a difficult time getting it going. Like Payne, he scored in double-figures in three of the four contests. However, like Payne, Hield was also somewhat inefficient. He shot a blistering 44.0 percent from 3 in that span. Yet, he only made 37.8 percent of his total field goal attempts.
Lastly, there’s Kelly Oubre Jr., who is also in his first season with the Sixers. A streaky shooter but athletic slasher, Oubre averaged 20.3 points per game for the Charlotte Hornets last season.
This season, the 28-year-old is averaging 14.3 points per game. Yet, over the last four games, Oubre averaged 23.3 points per game to help the Sixers navigate through Maxey’s absence. He even started in the final two contests, offering more size and better defense than other wings on the roster. Nonetheless, despite his increased production, he was plagued by inefficiency. Across the four-game stretch, Oubre shot 39.7 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from 3.
Maxey Matters, But Not Most
With Maxey back and 2023 NBA MVP Joel Embiid set to return soon, the Sixers will attempt to re-right the ship after dominating early in the season. That said, even with Maxey healthy, Philadelphia has struggled without Embiid. The Sixers are now 10-20 this season without their superstar center, fighting for their playoff lives.
At 36-26, Philadelphia is now sixth in the East. The eighth-place Miami Heat are only 1.0 game behind them in the standings. Should the Sixers slide further down the standings, it sets up a scenario in which the Sixers have to make it out of the play-in tournament to reach the postseason. To that point, Philadelphia has only missed the playoffs one time since Joel Embiid’s rookie debut. That was in 2016-17, his rookie season.
