Philadelphia 76ers’ guard Tyrese Maxey has been excellent during the 2023-24 NBA regular season. However, it is going to be a little while before we see him back on the court with his teammates.
According to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Maxey will not be playing tonight against the Brooklyn Nets. In fact, he isn’t even with the team currently, as they sent him back to Philadelphia for further testing after experiencing concussion-like symptoms in the last 24 hours.
During Sunday’s victory over the Dallas Mavericks, Maxey was hit in the back of the head. He was examined by the team’s physicians and was cleared to return to action by them.
With the clearance from doctors, Maxey played his regular role. He was on the court for 39 minutes, scoring 24 points with two rebounds, three assists, and two steals in a big upset victory for the 76ers on the road.
After the game, Maxey was assessed again and no symptoms were displayed. However, things must have worsened in the last 24 hours as Maxey has been ruled out for Tuesday’s game for concussion evaluations.
This is a brutal blow for the 76ers, who are already playing without reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid. Without Maxey, they are going to have their work cut out for them on the court. He has been playing at a high level despite a change in his role earlier on, as his responsibilities on the court changed following James Harden’s trade to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Maxey took on more of a lead-ball handling role, having to play some point guard. The results have been magnificent, as he is averaging 26 points, 6.3 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game. The points and assists are both on pace to be career-highs and helped Maxey be named to his first NBA All-Star Game.
With Maxey out of the lineup, we could see a lot more of Cameron Payne sharing backcourt duties along with Kyle Lowry. Ricky Council IV could also receive some minutes as Nick Nurse has to replace another star’s production.
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