Will Tyrese Maxey Play vs. Thunder? Doc Rivers is Uncertain

Doc Rivers isn't so sure about Tyrese Maxey's playing status in Oklahoma City.

Thursday’s day off from games served Tyrese Maxey well, as he finally got to participate in a full practice with the Philadelphia 76ers. Being unable to participate in a full practice for more than a month, Maxey had a lot of catching up to do.

Finally, Maxey’s fractured foot is healed. Now, the rising star is working on getting back to one-hundred percent conditioning-wise, which won’t be an easy task considering how much time he has missed as of late.

Doc Rivers and the Sixers are easing Maxey back into the fold. With the young guard having a minutes restriction on Friday against the New Orleans Pelicans, Maxey came off the bench for the first time since last season.

Although Maxey averaged 36 minutes of playing time prior to his setback this year, the young guard didn’t exceed 19 minutes in New Orleans. After the game, the young guard mentioned that it felt good to be back out on the floor, and he felt better as the game went on.

Maxey’s head coach, Doc Rivers, agreed with that sentiment. 

“I thought he got better as the game went on,” Rivers said after the game. “We used him in 18 minutes. You can see he was rusty when he started, and I thought that kind of affected the whole unit in some ways, but the only way you can bring him back you just gotta throw him in there like we did.”

Will the Sixers throw Maxey in when they take on the Oklahoma City Thunder on the second night of a back-to-back? Well, Doc Rivers couldn’t say for sure on Friday night.

“I don’t know yet,” said the head coach. “I really don’t know yet.”

Maxey expressed uncertainty about playing on Saturday night as well. While it’s probably in the Sixers’ best interest to allow the young guard to get some rest before they take the court again on Monday at home, the best way for Maxey to get back to one hundred percent is for him to continue getting reps by playing.

So far, the Sixers haven’t made an official decision on Maxey’s playing status for Saturday, but it’s safe to assume he’s a 50/50 shot to take on the Thunder for now.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.