76ers Injury Report: James Harden, PJ Tucker Questionable vs. OKC

The Philadelphia 76ers were fully healthy for the first time in a long time on Friday night. Going into their matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans, the Sixers were fortunate to get their third-year guard Tyrese Maxey back in the mix after he missed 18 straight games due to a fractured foot.

While the Sixers made it out of Friday night’s loss against the Pelicans without suffering any setbacks, the team could miss a handful of players when they take on the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night for the second night of a back-to-back.

One Out, One Returns

Tyrese Maxey

Doc Rivers and Maxey himself couldn’t say for sure whether or not the young veteran would play in Saturday’s game after checking in for 19 minutes on Friday.

We now know Maxey won’t get the nod to participate in the back-to-back. With Maxey on a minutes restriction, the Sixers will also hold him back due to injury management. The next time Maxey could see the floor is on Monday when the Sixers face the New Orleans Pelicans for a rematch at home.

Jaden Springer

On another note, while the Sixers won’t have the services of their two-way prospects Louis King and Julian Champagnie, the team did recall its second-year guard Jaden Springer from the team’s NBA G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats.

Who is Questionable?

James Harden

The All-Star guard was the first Sixer to deal with a significant injury this season. After suffering a tendon strain on November 2, Harden missed 14 games in a row. Since returning on December 5 to face the Houston Rockets, Harden has played in 11 straight games. He could miss his first set of action since December 2, as Harden is questionable on Saturday night due to injury management for his tendon strain.

PJ Tucker

This one’s a bit of a mystery. While it’s well-known at this point Tucker’s been dealing with a pinched nerve for the last few weeks, he remained off the injury report. Now, he’s on the report due to left knee injury management. Tucker did undergo knee surgery in the offseason, but he didn’t miss any regular season time as a result. Tucker’s played in all 34 of Philadelphia’s games so far this year. He could use a night off, but the team hasn’t made an official call on his playing status just yet.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.