Doc Rivers Confirms Sixers' PG Battle Between Tyrese Maxey, Shake Milton

With Ben Simmons holding out, the Philadelphia 76ers are stuck without their usual starting point guard. Will the three-time All-Star make his return to the

With Ben Simmons holding out, the Philadelphia 76ers are stuck without their usual starting point guard. Will the three-time All-Star make his return to the floor anytime soon if a trade doesn't happen? All signs point to no for now.

Therefore, the Sixers are left searching for their new starting point guard by utilizing two different guys at the position during the preseason. In the first outing against the Toronto Raptors on Monday night, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers gave second-year guard Tyrese Maxey the starting nod.

Maxey had a less-than-ideal outing on Monday. As he checked in for a little over 20 minutes, he shot 5-11 from the field, totaling for 10 points. He also racked up a few assists but turned the ball over four times, clocking out as a minus-15 for the night.

Following the game, Doc Rivers made it clear Maxey's a work-in-progress at the starting point guard position still. While many might've assumed Maxey still had the spot locked up despite his struggles in the first game of the preseason, Rivers took things in a different direction on Thursday to leave everybody unsure.

Rather than starting Maxey against the Raptors on Thursday, Rivers opted to roll with Shake Milton at point guard. After the game, Rivers explained his decision to switch things up and confirmed that Milton and Maxey are in a battle for the starting point guard position as long as Simmons remains away from the team.

"We were just looking at different guys," Rivers explained. "I thought (Shake Milton) played well. I thought he settled down because he struggled early and then started playing really well. So, yeah, I mean, it's a competition."

Milton checked in for 25 minutes on Thursday night. Getting up five shots from the field, with two of them coming from beyond the arc, Milton collected five points. In addition, he had four assists and turned the ball over just twice.

While Rivers liked what he saw out of Milton in the starting lineup, Maxey's performance off the bench was a lot more impressive than his performance in the starting lineup the other night.

Coming onto the court for 21 minutes once again, Maxey shot way more efficiently as he knocked down six of his nine shots from the field and collecting 14 points. He wrapped up the victory over Toronto as a plus-22 in the second unit. His performance left Rivers questioning whether he likes Maxey better coming off the bench or not.

"I don't know. I mean, today I did. But if he plays the next game well with the first unit, then you know what I mean?" Rivers continued. "We're just gonna get through camp and let them both play. As I keep saying, I don't know if this is a team that there's a starting lineup. It's just gonna be different guys on different nights. That's how we're gonna play."

With the Brooklyn Nets coming to town on Monday night, the Sixers will likely switch up the starting lineup once again and roll with Maxey as a starter over Milton. Then, when the preseason finale approaches, they'll probably switch back, offering both prospects a fair amount of looks in the starting lineup before the regular season approaches.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.