Will Tyrese Maxey Return for 76ers vs. Pelicans on Friday?

The New Orleans Pelicans are in South Philly to face the 76ers on Friday night.

The home team is coming off of a disappointing loss, which came against the shorthanded Memphis Grizzlies, who are placed 13th in the Western Conference.

Granted, the Sixers were far from healthy themselves. Lately, a lot of the team’s responsibility has been on the shoulders of the first-time All-Star Tyrese Maxey but the young guard was not available for them on Wednesday night.

During the Sixers’ matchup on the road against the Dallas Mavericks this past Sunday night, Maxey took a hard fall into the legs of a defender and ended up getting shaken up with a head injury. The veteran guard left the game to get evaluated for a concussion but was quickly cleared to return to the court.

Maxey might’ve finished the victory matchup over the Mavericks, but he struggled heading into Tuesday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets.

After experiencing delayed concussion symptoms, Maxey was sent back to Philly to rest up. Being in the NBA’s concussion protocol, Maxey has steps he still needs to take before returning. That was the case on Wednesday ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies matchup and that remains the case on Friday ahead of the New Orleans Pelicans matchup.

Once again, Maxey is ruled out on Friday night. That will mark his third straight absence this week. As expected, Maxey’s absence from the Sixers lineup was hard to overcome in the previous two games, and the Sixers found themselves falling short both times.

While Philly will benefit from the return of Kyle Lowry, who got the night off on Wednesday as well, the Sixers are likely itching to get Maxey back for this stretch run, as his absence leaves a 26-point, six-assist void.

The Sixers and the Pelicans will tip-off at 7 PM ET on Friday.