Sixers Rule Tyrese Maxey Out vs. Nets on Thursday Night

The Sixers will roll without a few key players on Thursday night when they take on the Brooklyn Nets for the second night of a back-to-back.

Early on Thursday afternoon, the Sixers ruled out two key reserves. The veteran power forward Georges Niang, who entered the NBA's health and safety protocol on Wednesday morning, was ruled out for the second-straight game.

In addition to Niang, the Sixers also anticipated playing without the Turkish veteran Furkan Korkmaz. On Wednesday, Korkmaz missed Philly's matchup against the Miami Heat as he's been dealing with an illness as well. Unlike Niang, though, Korkmaz's illness is non-COVID-related, according to a team official.

While it seemed the Sixers would only be without those two on Thursday night, the team ruled Tyrese Maxey out under an hour before tip-off. According to a team official, Maxey's dealing with a left quad contusion.

Based on Maxey's performance on Wednesday night, it seems the young guard's recent setback isn't anything that should keep him off the court for a while. As he checked into Wednesday's game for a 42-minute shift, Maxey drained a team-high of 27 points. After the game, Maxey didn't show signs of dealing with an injury.

The Sixers starter will get the night off on Thursday, regardless. That will mark the second time this season he misses a game. With Maxey out of the lineup in Brooklyn, the Sixers decided to roll with Shake Milton as the starter.

In addition to adding Milton to the starting lineup, 76ers head coach Doc Rivers also decided to send the third-year defensive standout Matisse Thybulle back to the bench in favor of starting the veteran Danny Green once again.

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

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