Tyrese Maxey’s Looming Return Raises Major Rotation Questions For Sixers

The Philadelphia 76ers have been without starting point guard Tyrese Maxey for the past month after he suffered a foot fracture against the Milwaukee Bucks in mid-November. However, he’s expected to return in Friday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans, according to John Clark of NBC Sports Philadelphia.

Maxey is likely to be on a minutes restriction upon his return, per Shams Charania of The Athletic. Once he’s back up to speed, though, the Sixers will have to confront some potentially thorny rotation questions.

De’Anthony Melton moved into the Sixers’ starting lineup when James Harden suffered a foot injury in early November, and he’s stayed there ever since. Over his past 18 games, he’s averaged a well-rounded 13.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 3.2 three-pointers and 2.3 steals in 34.1 minutes per night.

The Sixers got off to a bumpy start this season amidst the injuries to Harden, Maxey and star center Joel Embiid, but they’ve found their footing as of late. They were riding a season-high eight-game winning streak until Tuesday’s loss against the Washington Wizards.

With Melton on the floor alongside their other four typical starters (Harden, Embiid, P.J. Tucker and Tobias Harris), the Sixers are outscoring their opponents by 13.1 points per 100 possessions (81st percentile leaguewide) and are averaging 122.7 points per 100 possessions (77th percentile). With Maxey in place of Harden, they’re outscoring opponents by 4.9 points per 100 possessions (57th percentile) and are averaging 113.7 points per 100 possessions (47th percentile).

There’s a lot of noise in those sample sizes—many of Maxey’s minutes came alongside a hobbled Embiid, while the Sixers have feasted lately against mediocre teams—but they complement what the eye test suggests. The defensive concerns about a Maxey-Harden backcourt aren’t as prominent with Melton in place of Maxey, as he’s among the league leaders in both steals (2.1) and deflections (3.7) per game.

However, Maxey is far more prolific on offense than Melton, who is more of a complementary option. The 22-year-old is currently second on the team in points per game (22.9) to go with 4.4 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.9 three-pointers (on 42.2 percent shooting from deep). Having him on the floor alongside Embiid and Harden can stretch defenses beyond their breaking point, especially when opponents send a double-team at anyone.

After the Sixers’ Christmas Day victory over the New York Knicks, Harden told reporters that he felt as though the Sixers were hitting their stride as of late. However, he noted that they’re about to confront the challenge of reintegrating Maxey.

“But then we gotta add Tyrese back into the equation,” Harden said. “He’s a huge part of what we’re trying to do. Which, it won’t be that hard. There’s a lot of questions, but they’re good questions to have, good problems to have.”

If Maxey is on a minutes restriction upon his return, the Sixers might opt to bring him off the bench at first. He could add some scoring juice to the second unit alongside Shake Milton, and the Sixers can keep their current starting five intact for the time being. But given Maxey’s importance to both their short- and long-term outlook, it’s difficult to imagine keeping him out of the starting lineup permanently.

That doesn’t necessarily mean they should move Melton back to the bench either, though.

Tucker recently revealed that he’s playing through a “pinched nerve,” which he also dubbed a “dead hand.” That perhaps explains why he’ averaging only 3.0 shot attempts and 3.4 points after averaging 6.0 and 7.6, respectively, with the Miami Heat last season.

The Sixers didn’t sign Tucker this past offseason with the hopes of him developing into a high-volume scorer. The 37-year-old is known for his toughness, his physicality and his offensive rebounding, all of which have shown up in Philadelphia. But if he’s unable or unwilling to knock down open catch-and-shoot threes, his presence on the floor does bog down the offense at times, despite what he provides defensively.

The “most frequently recommended treatment for a pinched nerve is rest for the affected area,” according to the Mayo Clinic. “Your doctor will ask you to stop any activities that cause or aggravate the compression.”

While Tucker’s dedication to playing through the injury is admirable, it also may be foolhardy. The Sixers’ No. 1 priority should be getting to the playoffs as healthy as possible. Having a 37-year-old play through a pinched nerve in relatively meaningless late-December regular-season games is antithetical to that goal.

Tucker seemed to aggravate the injury in Tuesday’s loss to the Wizards, so Maxey’s return might be coming at the perfect time. The Sixers could decide to hold Tucker out until his injury heals and roll with a three-guard starting lineup—Maxey, Harden and Melton—alongside Embiid and Harris. They’d be light on reliable bench depth outside of Milton and Georges Niang, but head coach Doc Rivers could stagger Maxey and Harden to ensure one of them is on the floor at all times.

As Harden said, having too many players deserving of a starting role is a good problem for the Sixers to have. Many teams would kill for this sort of a dilemma. Still, how Rivers handles the roles of Maxey, Melton and Tucker in particular over the coming games will be a major storyline to watch.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac or RealGM. All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.