Fantasy Basketball Impact of Tyrese Maxey’s Late-Season Injury

Another big-name NBA player has suffered an injury that will cost him most of the rest of the season.

Let's discuss the injury for Philadelphia Tyrese Maxey, and what it means in the real world and for fantasy basketball owners.

Fantasy basketball injury news can be found all season on FantasySP.

Injury and Some Stats

Maxey has a tendon injury in his right pinkie finger that will cost him approximately three weeks. He got injured with 16 seconds left in the team's Saturday game.

In 61 games this season, Maxey is averaging 29 points, 6.7 assists, 4.1 rebounds, 2 steals and 0.8 blocks over 38.3 minutes a night. He's been fantastic, and is a top-end fantasy basketball player this season.

Maxey has scored in double figures in all but one contest this season, and he's only been below 20 points on six occasions. He has five or more assists in all but 15 games, while grabbing five or more boards in 21 contests. He has a steal in all but six games and a block in over half of his appearances.

Him being out any time is a blow to his fantasy owners, and the 76ers in real life.

With the NBA season ending on April 12, a three-week absence would put Maxey out for nearly the rest of the regular season, so fantasy owners have a tough decision looming with him.

How to Approach Maxey

If you don't have an injured reserve spot to stash him in, then Maxey could be droppable.

I'd really only want to drop him in standard leagues, but because we are in/or close to the fantasy playoffs, you might also have to drop him in deeper fantasy leagues.

It will be a devastating blow to those fantasy squads, and this injury could singlehandedly change the outcome of the fantasy playoffs.

And of course, there's no one player on the waiver wire who is capable of replacing Maxey. You will have to piece together replacements for the rest of the season. If you decide you need to drop Maxey today, then I'd use his roster spot to stream players for the rest of the season.

Outlook for the 76ers

The 76ers are in a world of hurt right now, so thankfully they are pretty locked into a playoff spot of some fashion.

Right now, Philly is 35-30, which is good enough for eighth in the Eastern Conference. That puts them in the play-in tournament.

Orlando is 35-28, Miami is 37-29 and Toronto is 36-28 - those seem like the only teams Philly could catch ahead of them down the stretch. Atlanta is 34-31 and Charlotte is 33-33 - those teams could definitely pass Philly, especially with all the injuries that the Sixers are dealing with.

Milwaukee is the first team out of the play-in tournament right now, and Chicago is hot on their heels. The Bucks are 27-37, while the Bulls are 27-38. It seems unlikely that Philly would drop past those two squads, but you just never know.

In addition to Maxey being out for several weeks now, they also have Joel Embiid who has been out for some time and continues to miss time. He's supposed to be re-evaluated soon, so for the sake of the team, getting him back out there could be crucial in locking down a playoff spot.

Also don't forget about the Paul George 25-game suspension. He's eligible to return on March 25, so he could play the final 10 games of the season.

The projected starters in the meantime could be Cameron Payne (replacing Maxey), VJ Edgecombe, Kelly Oubre Jr., Dominick Barlow and Adem Bona. Quentin Grimes, Jabari Walker, Justin Edwards, Trendon Watford and Andre Drummond are some of the top reserves, and others could also factor in as the 76ers miss three of their top players.

Payne is the top fantasy basketball pickup of the day after the news of Maxey's injury dropped. He amassed 32 points, 10 assists, three steals and rebounds and two blocks over 30 minutes on Tuesday, when he helped fill in for Maxey.

Payne is owned in 19% of leagues today, and that percentage could soar before the next Philly game. We'll discuss him a bit more in Wednesday's waiver wire story.

Edgecombe is already owned in all fantasy leagues, but he will definitely pick up more without Maxey around. Grimes is at 82% owned, and is another one who should take on more without so many Philly players around for the time being.

Oubre sits at 86% rostered, and is another good pickup if you just lost Maxey. George is down to 38% - that will shoot back up as we near his return date.

Barlow is rostered in 12% of leagues, while Walker is at 10% and Watford sits at 5%. They are better deep-league assets, but could be standard league streaming options if any other 76ers miss games between now and the return of Embiid, George and Maxey.

Embiid is another 76er who is already owned in all fantasy leagues. His availability is the biggest thing with him, so hopefully he gets back on the court and stays healthy the rest of the way, because his team needs that.

Drummond and Bona are each around 14% owned. Both are better deep-league options, but could be good streaming options in more deeper leagues and maybe some standard leagues if Embiid continues to miss time.

Best of luck if you rostered Maxey, because this injury is a devastating one for fantasy squads.