Tyrese Maxey will miss his fifth consecutive game because of a strained right hamstring when the Philadelphia 76ers visit the Orlando Magic on Friday, but they announced Friday (via multiple reporters) that the All-Star guard has resumed on-court work and will be reevaluated early next week.
Maxey, 24, exited the Sixers’ 110-98 loss against the Los Angeles Clippers on Nov. 6 in the third quarter and hasn’t played since. They were 1-6 after that game, and they are 2-9 (and 0-1 in the NBA Cup) heading into the game in Orlando. Their new Big 3, featuring Joel Embiid, Paul George and Maxey, have yet to play a single minute together. Embiid missed the first nine games of the season due to left knee injury management and a suspension for shoving a reporter in the locker room, George missed the first five games due to a bone bruise in his left knee and both Embiid and George sat out Philly’s 114-106 loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday, which was on the second night of a back-to-back.
After the Magic game, the Sixers will visit Miami on Monday and Memphis on Wednesday, then host the Brooklyn Nets next Friday in their third NBA Cup game. If Maxey returns during that stretch — and nothing goes wrong for Embiid or George — then they can finally get their season going. Most eyes will be on how the three stars complement one another, but that’s not necessarily the most interesting storyline here. In Maxey’s absence, rookie guard Jared McCain has risen to the occasion, showing more playmaking chops than advertised and perhaps making this terrible start worthwhile.
McCain, the No. 16 pick in the 2024 draft, scored 27 points (23 of them in the second half and overtime) on 10-for-18 shooting in Philadelphia’s 107-105 victory against the Charlotte Hornets last Sunday. He scored 23 points on 7-for-16 shooting in their 111-99 loss against the New York Knicks on Tuesday, then followed it up with 34 points on 12-for-26 shooting and 10 assists the next night against the Cavs. He shot 13 for 31 (42%) from deep in those three games.
For the Sixers, this McCain stretch has been something of a revelation. He wasn’t even in the rotation at the beginning of the season, and now he looks like a potential Rookie of the Year. If he’s going to be in the mix for that award, though, he’ll need to keep playing major minutes when they’re at full strength. This could be complicated as, broadly speaking, his strengths and weaknesses mirror Maxey’s.
To be clear, McCain should remain a valuable part of Philadelphia’s rotation regardless of who’s available. He doesn’t need the ball in his hands to be effective on offense, since he’s a dangerous shooter off the catch and off movement. (On the season, he’s made 48.4% of his catch-and-shoot 3s.) It’s worth wondering, though, how often he should play with Maxey, and in what situations. Is McCain sturdy enough that coach Nick Nurse would consider starting both of the small guards, like he did with Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet in Toronto? Does it make more sense to make McCain the sparkplug sixth man?
The Sixers have been severely undermanned all season. Pretty soon, though, they could have more firepower than they ever anticipated.
