Unlike Kyle Lowry, Tyrese Maxey won’t return during the Sixers’ home stretch.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Thursday that Maxey is “expected to be ruled out for the rest of the season with a finger tendon injury.” The 24-year-old guard is “still dealing with discomfort and needs treatment,” Charania reported.
The 23-53 Sixers have six regular-season games remaining. In addition to Maxey, Joel Embiid (left knee surgery), Paul George (adductor and left knee injuries), Jared McCain (left knee surgery) and Eric Gordon (right wrist surgery) have been ruled out for the year. Kelly Oubre Jr. (right knee) and Andre Drummond (left big toe) are among their sidelined veterans.
Maxey practiced last Friday and the Sixers weren’t encouraged.
“It went just medium,” Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said Tuesday night before his team’s loss to the Knicks. “It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, that was great,’ but he’s still working out today. He’ll work out tomorrow. And again, we’re hoping he feels a little bit better.
“He got a splint put on there and kind of liked it, but then it was bothering him post-practice a little bit. But again, we’re working him out and trying to get him back on the court.”
Maxey did not look comfortable in his pregame workout at Madison Square Garden. He mostly took shots inside with his left hand and did not extend beyond the mid-range with his right.
The last time Maxey played was March 3. He’d clearly been hampered by his injured finger and acknowledged on Feb. 26 that it was affecting “mostly just my shot and my ball handling.”
“I can’t really pound the ball like I want to, but I’m not going to make any excuses,” he said.
Over his final four games, he shot just 19 for 69 (27.5 percent) from the floor and 2 for 21 (9.5 percent) from three-point range.
For the season, Maxey averaged 26.3 points, 6.1 assists and 3.3 rebounds. He made major improvements defensively and easily set a new career high in steals, nabbing 1.8 per game.