Sixers’ Tyrese Maxey Misses Matchup vs. Trail Blazers

The Philadelphia 76ers got healthier on Monday night, but they still missed a couple of key players in their lineup.

Philly’s fourth-year guard Tyrese Maxey was among those who were on the injury report leading up to the matchup. Lately, the Sixers’ guard has been battling an ankle sprain.

Although the Sixers initially viewed Maxey as questionable before the game, he was downgraded to out a couple of hours before the Sixers and the Portland Trail Blazers tipped off.

With that absence, Maxey missed consecutive games for the first time this year.

After appearing in the Sixers’ first 18 games of the year, averaging 38 minutes on the floor, Maxey sat out for the first time on December 1 in the team’s matchup against the Boston Celtics. At the time, Maxey wasn’t dealing with an injury. Instead, he was hit with an illness that spreading across the Sixers’ roster throughout the last month.

In the following game, Maxey returned to the floor to take on the Washington Wizards. From then on, the star guard was present for the Sixers’ next 24 games.

During the Sixers’ last Thursday night game against the Indiana Pacers, Maxey checked in for just 28 minutes. During that time, he scored 22 points on 41 percent shooting. With the Sixers coming up short with a double-digit loss, the Sixers pulled the plug on their key players early. Unfortunately, there were lingering effects after the loss to Indiana.

Not only did Maxey miss the following game against the Denver Nuggets due to his recent setback, but so did the star center, Joel Embiid. After Embiid tweaked his ankle, the big man found himself as a late scratch in Denver due to knee swelling.

Heading into the Portland matchup on Monday, Maxey, Embiid, and the ill Tobias Harris were all questionable on the Sixers’ injury report. Harris was fortunate enough to return after a two-game absence. As for Maxey and Embiid, the Sixers will have to re-evaluate their recent setbacks once again before the Tuesday night matchup against the Golden State Warriors.