When word first broke that Tyrese Maxey had broken a bone in his left foot, reports indicated that he was expected to miss about three or four weeks. However, with the four-week mark arriving on Saturday, the Sixers guard still isn’t close to returning, head coach Doc Rivers said on Thursday.
“Whatever he has to do, he’s nowhere near it,” Rivers said, per Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “So I would say he’s out at least, I don’t know, for at least a couple more weeks.”
Rivers had previously told reporters that he hoped Maxey would be able to practice this week, but the 22-year-old hasn’t been able to do any real on-court work yet.
“Nothing is the answer,” Rivers said on Thursday when asked what Maxey was able to do. “I mean, he can shoot. He can run a straight line, but that’s it.
“… He can sprint straight; he just can’t cut or he can’t stop. So it may get better in three days or five or six days. But I don’t see that happening. This is an uneducated guess, but I just can’t imagine him playing any time soon.”
Maxey, who has been sidelined since November 18, played in Philadelphia’s first 15 games of the season before missing the last 12. The team has held its own without him, going 7-5 in his absence despite also being without Joel Embiid and/or James Harden for some of those games.
Maxey appeared to be taking another step toward stardom prior to the injury, averaging a career-best 22.9 PPG, 4.4 APG, and 3.5 RPG on .462/.422/.738 shooting in 36.4 minutes per contest.