The Philadelphia 76ers received two very different pieces of news on Thursday before their matchup with the Utah Jazz. One very good and one not so great.
The good news is that Tyrese Maxey was named an All-Star for the first time in his career. The fourth-year guard has been phenomenal for Philadelphia as he has stepped up and taken on more responsibility for this group. He has taken his game to another level which is a testament to the hard work he’s put in on an everyday basis.
“Listen, it’s a big accomplishment,” coach Nick Nurse told reporters. “I think that when you sit there and watch those names being drawn and you think about all those guys up on the screen for both conferences and the guys that probably are really close to being there, too, and for Tyrese, the first time, it’s got to be exciting.”
Nurse has challenged Maxey all season to make strides in specific areas on the floor. The young star has not backed down from any of those challenges and Philadelphia has benefited from having him on the floor.
“I think it’s certainly well deserved,” Nurse added. “He’s played amazing. He’s worked really hard. It was a big jump up year for him. Everybody said he lived up to all that and probably more and I always keep saying the exciting thing is I think he’s got a long ways to go to reach his ceiling yet so congrats to him. We’ve got a lot of people, coaching staff, players, everybody who have been in the organization deserve some credit for that, but super congratulations to him.”
Then, there is the bad news. The MRI on the knee of Joel Embiid revealed a meniscus injury and he will be kept out through the weekend which means he’s out for at least the home matchup with the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday. The team’s medical staff will continue to work with him to figure out a treatment plan and see what comes next for the reigning league MVP.
“I don’t know if there’s any opinion to put on it at all,” Nurse stated of Embiid. “You know, the news is, they got the MRI, and the news is what you’ve been told, right? And I don’t think we’re gonna know much yet until after the weekend.”
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