Philadelphia star Tyrese Maxey is listed as questionable with an illness for Monday night’s Game 2 of the first round against the Knicks at the Garden.
This is a major concern for the 76ers, who lost the series opener and are already dealing with health concerns surrounding MVP Joel Embiid.
Maxey was the only Sixer player absent from Monday morning’s shootaround at the Garden, making him a surprising addition to the injury report.
The All-Star guard has played well over the last five games, averaging 31.6 points, 4.6 assists, and 3 rebounds, and a marathon time of 42.2 minutes.
Maxey scored a game-high 33 points in 44 minutes in Saturday’s series opener, but the Sixers still lost 111-104 at a packed Garden.
The guard scored 12 points in the first half on 5-of-14 shooting, but used his speed to get into the lane at will after the half.
Embiid limped visibly with a knee injury late in the second quarter, but Maxey bounced back in the second half, scoring 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting.
The next day, Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse said more effort was needed from the start.
“I don’t need to see anything earlier than that, other than he has to play harder,” Nurse said of Maxey. “He needs to come into the game and play more physical, be involved in rebounding, be involved in the physical nature of the game.”
Now, the question is whether the 23-year-old guard will be fit to play against the Knicks at all.
Otherwise, veteran Kyle Lowry, shooter Buddy Hield, who went scoreless in his playoff debut, and Cam Payne could be asked for more playing time, and Tobias Harris, who is a scorer, could be asked to play more minutes. You may need to fill in the gaps.
