Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey is the latest star for the team to be sidelined by injury.
Per multiple reports, the 24-year-old Maxey is expected to miss at least two weeks with a right hamstring injury. ESPN’s Shams Charania reports Maxey is likely to miss a couple of weeks and a full evaluation of Maxey’s injury will come later today.
The guard, who was injured a night earlier in a 110-98 loss to the LA Clippers, received additional medical evaluation on Thursday.
“Not very good luck,” coach Nick Nurse said Thursday night. “We’ve got to hang in there and still find a way to compete and play better.”
Maxey leads the Sixers with 27.6 points and led the NBA with 39.7 minutes played per game.
Maxey’s hamstring woes are the latest setback for a franchise that is already watching a playoff berth turn more into an outside shot rather than the guarantee it seemed at training camp in the Bahamas.
Guard Paul George, who scored 18 points and was booed by Clippers fans in his return to Los Angeles, has played only two games this season because of a bone bruise on his left knee suffered in a preseason game.
The 76ers have played all season without Embiid, both for what the team calls left knee management and because of a three-game suspension for shoving a member of the media.
The 76ers have been under more NBA investigations (two) than they have wins (one) this season.
The NBA fined the 76ers $100,000 last month for public statements, including by president of basketball operations Daryl Morey and Nurse, that were inconsistent with star center Joel Embiid’s health status and in violation of NBA rules, including the league’s player participation policy.
Embiid was suspended three games without pay after he shouted at and eventually shoved a newspaper columnist in a locker room altercation Saturday night.
The 76ers have lost four straight games heading into Friday’s game against the Lakers (10 p.m. ET, NBA League Pass), then return home Sunday against Charlotte and have another home game Tuesday against New York. Embiid is set to make his season debut against the Knicks in the first game of NBA Emirates Cup play.
“We’ve got to play better,” Nurse said. “We’re taking two (steps) forward and two back. We’ve got to develop some consistency and play a little better.”
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.