Tyrese Maxey is set for an extended absence.
The All-Star Philadelphia 76ers guard has a tendon injury in his right pinkie and will be re-evaluated in three weeks,ESPN's Shams Charania reports. Maxey injured his finger in Saturday's loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
The news is a blow for the 76ers as they fight to make the playoffs. The 76ers entered Monday in eighth place in the Eastern Conference at 34-30. They have a 6.5-game cushion over the 11th-place Milwaukee Bucks (27-36), who would be the first team to miss the play-in tournament if the postseason started today.
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Philadelphia is 1.5 games behind the sixth-place Orlando Magic (35-28), who would be the last team in the East to avoid the play-in and clinch a guaranteed playoff spot.
Maxey is Philadelphia's most important player and key to the 76ers' hopes of maintaining playoff positioning and success in the postseason.
In 61 games this season, Maxey is averaging 29 points, 6.7 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 2 steals per game, all career highs. He's shooting 46.1% from the floor and 37.3% from 3.
Injury puts All-NBA at risk for Maxey
Maxey's four games short of qualifying for the NBA's minimum games-played requirement of 65 to qualify for postseason awards, including All-NBA selection. The league's fourth-leading scorer, he's a candidate for All-NBA honors.
Per the three-week time frame, Maxey would miss 11 of Philadelphia's remaining 18 games at a minimum. From there, he'd have to play in four of Philadelphia's remaining seven games to be eligible for All-NBA selection.