Soap opera season continues for Sixers with Tyrese Maxey being sidelined

Like the drama on an afternoon soap opera, bad luck and happenings just never seem to end for the Sixers. 

The latest dilemma hit the team about a half hour before their game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday. That's when the team made the following announcement:

"Following consultation with multiple hand specialists, which included a review of additional imaging, Tyrese Maxey has been diagnosed with a tendon injury to the small finger on his right hand. Maxey will be reevaluated in approximately three weeks. Further updates will be provided as appropriate."

Three weeks takes us to the end of the month, and that's just when he'll be looked at again. Best-case scenario, he is cleared to resume basketball activities. That would most likely mean some time on the practice floor before being cleared for game action. If this is the case, then a return to the lineup would probably be about the end of the first week of April. The Sixers start a three-game road trip in San Antonio on April 6, before going to Houston on April 9 and Indiana on April 10. They then finish out the season at home on April 12.

A worse-case would be that Maxey is looked at in three weeks and the decision is made that he won't be ready until the play-in tournament or playoffs, whichever the Sixers qualify for. Providing Joel Embiid is healthy at that time and Paul George has no complications after coming back from his suspension with 10 games remaining in the regular season, maybe the "big three" can be reunited.

It's a big maybe, as we've all seen with the Sixers before. Embiid is scheduled to be reevaluated at the end of the week, coach Nick Nurse said before Tuesday's game, and George has been working out daily with the team. 

Rookie VJ Edgecombe returned against Memphis from his bruised back and seems fully recovered.

"You can't replace Tyrese Maxey," said Edgecombe following the Sixers' 139-129 win over the Grizzlies. "He's one of one. You can't replace him at all. But we know he would want us to go out there and just hoop. He's been our best player all year. It hurts for him to go down, but now everyone has to step up."

Oddly, the same words could be said about Embiid and, to a smaller extent, George. And now, they have to deal with a harsh schedule without the three of them for now. At 35-30, the Sixers currently sit in the eighth spot of the Eastern Conference standings, a game and a half out of reaching the sixth spot and avoiding the play-in tournament.

If they want to climb the standings ladder, it will probably take monumental efforts from unsuspecting individuals, much like the one Cam Payne delivered on Tuesday. The diminutive guard, who was playing professionally in Serbia less than a month ago, had the best night of his NBA career, going for a personal best 32 points. He set a Sixers franchise record for most three-pointers made in a game without a miss (eight), shot 9-for-10 from the floor, made all six of his foul shots, dealt 10 assists and didn't turn the ball over.

That's a lot to ask from anyone, let alone an 11-year vet who has played for seven teams and appeared to be done with his NBA career. But it's heroic play like that which is going to have to be somewhat normal for the woefully shorthanded Sixers. 

"I wasn't expecting that but I'm thankful for it," said Payne of his big night. "I was talking about being efficient and I came out and I was very efficient. It's crazy. I've been getting in my work, getting in my shots. Hopefully I can stay hot. That's the goal. Stay hot. The crazy part was I really wasn't in that kind of vibe. I really wanted to win the game. I took the shots when I got the opportunity. Cause I really wasn't thirsty, like trying to constantly go get it and shoot threes. Kind of just let them come to me and I just kind of played my game.

"I was thinking about winning the game. I was still driving, still trying to get my teammates involved. Getting 10 assists was so dope for me. That felt good tonight. Obviously the threes were huge, but touching the paint and getting my teammates involved, that was huge."

The help he received from his teammates was, also. Kelly Oubre Jr. collected 30 points and 12 rebounds, shaking off an early shooting slump to provide much-needed offensive help. Quinten Grimes continued his aggressive play and collected 23 points, even though he didn't make a three (0-for-4), by making 11-of-13 free throws. And Edgecombe found his way after a rusty start to chip in 21 points, five rebounds and five assists. 

"He's a leader, he's a pro, he's a vet," said Edgecombe of Payne. "He's been around for a long time. He's been around other great guards, other great players. He's been in playoffs. So he knows what it takes. I'm glad he's out here."

To expect to get a night from Payne like that again is probably futile. But it really is the kind of Herculean performance the team is going to need from someone almost on a game-day basis.

"Cam was great, obviously, and Kelly kind of bounced into the game a little bit even though he wasn't shooting it that well but then really started attacking the rim," said Nurse. "Even Q didn't start shooting well, and then he started putting his head down a little bit and drawing some contact and getting to the front of the rim. I really thought VJ gave us a huge spark. He just all of the sudden started getting offensive rebounds and put-backs. Leadership-wise, with his energy, just kind of really sparked that whole run with some of his tough plays that he was making.

"They did a good job. It's a back-to-back and there's some tired people out there for sure. Once we got a spark of energy and got a couple of things to go our way and turn them over, and we really kept the scoreboard moving, which was really important tonight and for the last 17 minutes we were really, really energetic. We were just playing our guts out. That's what we talked about before the game. Let's make sure that we use up all our energy that we have left and just really play as hard as we can."

The leg-weary Sixers turned short-handed Memphis over 20 times and oddly improved to 10-3 on the second game of back-to-backs. The win, those facts and a career-night were the highlights. But the lead story was the news on Maxey.

"It's a huge blow for him," said Nurse of Maxey. "He's having an All-NBA season. Just hoping it heals really, really quick and he gets back to where it doesn't bother him at all. He's obviously played tremendous and it puts us in a bind with some of the other guys out, too. But hopefully, these two or three weeks will whiz by and he'll be ready to go."