76ers Injury Notes: Latest on Tyrese Maxey, De’Anthony Melton

Tyrese Maxey's "big week" hasn't gone according to plan so far.

The Philadelphia 76ers hoped it would be a big week in terms of getting healthy. Now that they have the All-Stars Joel Embiid and James Harden back in the mix, the Sixers are patiently waiting for their fifth starter Tyrese Maxey to heal up and return to the court.

After going down with a small fracture in his foot on November 18, Maxey’s initial reported timeline was expected to be 3-4 weeks. At this point, he’s surpassed the three-week mark without a return. Tuesday’s matchup between the Sixers and the Sacramento Kings marked the 12th straight game Maxey missed this season.

Philadelphia’s December 19 matchup against the Golden State Warriors will officially mark four weeks since Maxey’s seen the court. Considering ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Maxey is expected to return before the Sixers’ Christmas Day matchup against the New York Knicks, it seemed the matchups against the Warriors, Toronto Raptors, Detroit Pistons, and the Los Angeles Clippers were in play to become Maxey’s targeted return matchup. 

Over the weekend, it seemed the Golden State game on Friday was certainly in play for Maxey’s return. However, Doc Rivers left a lot of doubt in that scenario prior to Tuesday’s matchup against the Kings.

Before the Sixers faced the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday, Rivers anticipated a notable jump in progress for Maxey’s recovery this week. 

“He’s doing more, for sure. I think this week will be a big week for him, you know, as far as when he’ll come back,” said Rivers.

“Right now, he’s done nothing competitive,” the head coach added. “He’s just running and jumping. I don’t even know if he’s jumping yet. We obviously aren’t going to put him on the floor until he can play in a pick-up game or two-on-two, and he’s not been able to do that. Until he gets to that point, he’s going to be out.”

Rivers hoped that Maxey’s “big week” would be getting the guard involved in simply playing basketball again. On Tuesday, the head coach acknowledged that hasn’t been the case yet.

“So far, it hasn’t been a big week,” Rivers said on Tuesday ahead of the Sacramento matchup. “He is shooting — I will say that. He’s… I don’t want to call it sprinting, but he’s running. It’s definitely not a sprint yet. We’re hoping maybe by the end of the week we can slip him in one of these practices, but right now, it’s probably not trending to that.”

The Sixers are off on Wednesday after picking up a victory over Sacramento on Tuesday night. Assuming they practice on Thursday ahead of Friday’s game against Golden State, perhaps there is a chance that Maxey re-joins his teammates on the floor for his first live practice since last month.

Judging based on the fact that Maxey has yet to participate in a live session, the young guard will likely surpass the four-week mark before returning.

Other Injury Notes:

Danuel House Jr.

The veteran wing suffered a foot laceration last week. After checking in for 20 minutes against the Houston Rockers, House was downgraded to questionable against the Los Angeles Lakers last Friday. After getting ruled out against LA, House missed the following matchup against the Charlotte Hornets as well.

Everything was trending in the right direction for House to return on Tuesday night. Not only was he initially listed as probable, but House participated in Philly’s morning shootaround and pregame warmups. Shortly after taking the court at the Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday night, Doc Rivers announced that House’s playing status would be downgraded.

“I would say 50/50, maybe doubtful even,” said Rivers. “Did I just update something? Ok, I’m updating it to doubtful.” Shortly after, the Sixers ruled House out for the night. Clearly, House’s foot did not respond the way the team anticipated on Tuesday.

De’Anthony Melton

The veteran guard’s lingering back issue has been public throughout the year. Prior to Tuesday’s game, Melton missed two matchups, once on November 2 against the Washington Wizards and another time on November 12 against the Atlanta Hawks.

There are times Melton doesn’t practice due to back stiffness, but it doesn’t always hold him out of the game. On Tuesday, that wasn’t the case, though. After being left off the injury report initially, Melton was downgraded to questionable following the Sixers’ Tuesday morning shootaround.

Doc Rivers ruled Melton out before he participated in his pregame press conference. Melton was present at the game on Tuesday night in good spirits, which hints his setback is minor. Considering Melton has yet to miss consecutive matchups this year, there is a good chance he’s back on the floor on Friday night, barring any setbacks.