Gearing up for their Saturday matchup on March 28, the Philadelphia 76ers could potentially have their original starting five healthy for the clash against the Charlotte Hornets.
After Kelly Oubre Jr. revealed to reporters that he was going to play this weekend following Friday’s practice session, it became clear that Tyrese Maxey was going to be the final domino to fall on the health front.
Sixers head coach Nick Nurse had some minor updates, but nothing about a timeline. When Maxey addressed reporters, he didn’t follow Oubre’s lead with any surprising reveals. But there was one later on.
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The Sixers upgraded Maxey on the injury report to questionable for Saturday’s action against the Hornets. Suddenly, Saturday’s game could be his first set of action since the Sixers paid a visit to the Atlanta Hawks on March 7.
76ers Fans Are Shocked About Tyrese Maxey’s Update
Here’s what Sixers fans are saying ahead of the big decision:
“Literally did not expect Maxey to even be questionable at all. This is amazing news to hear,” Anxious_north_819 said on Reddit.
“Tyrese wants that all-NBA lol,” jeppsforst said.
“Hopefully that means it healed way quicker than the previous finger sprain and he is in no way shape or form pushing it,” otternomaly added.
“Heard the people slandering 29/7 and was like “Nah, we’re not doing this.”. (That and he needs to play the next few to get to 65 for the all-NBA nod that he rightfully deserves)” said MaxeytoEmbiid.
The Sixers Are Making A Playoff Push
The Sixers will have postseason basketball again this year, no matter what.
After missing the NBA Play-In Tournament last season, locking in their lottery pick, the Sixers have clinched a Tournament spot for the second time in three years.
But a top-six position is still in play. Heading into Saturday’s slate, the Sixers hold a 40-33 record, which is good for seventh place in the Eastern Conference. They are just 0.5 games behind the Atlanta Hawks, and 1.0 games behind the fifth-seeded Toronto Raptors.
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The Sixers are getting healthy at the right time. Clearly, the return of Maxey would give them a massive boost. This year, Maxey has appeared in 61 games, averaging 29.0 points on 46.1% shooting from the field and 37.3% shooting from three.
The star guard is also producing 4.1 rebounds and 6.7 assists, along with 2.0 steals per game.
On Saturday, the Hornets and the Sixers will tip at 6 PM ET. Maxey’s status is up in the air.