Tyrese Maxey was excited to have friend Isaiah Joe return to Sixers
It is always tough to see a teammate go down with an injury or an illness in the middle of the season. For the Philadelphia 76ers, they have been dealing with a number of those instances recently.
As a result of the league’s health and safety protocol, the Sixers have played games without Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris, Matisse Thybulle and Isaiah Joe. That is a lot of firepower the Sixers have lost.
While Harris has returned, Embiid and Thybulle remain out. Joe returned to the team on Saturday against the Indiana Pacers, and that excited fellow second-year guard Tyrese Maxey.
“As soon as I saw him walk in the locker room, I stopped what I was doing and gave him a big hug,” said Maxey. “I told him I missed him. It was really good to see and I’m glad he’s healthy. I’m glad you can see him back on the court run around. I can’t wait to see him back out there.”
Joe did not play Saturday as coach Doc Rivers is likely going to work him back slowly considering what COVID-19 does to a person’s endurance.
While Joe and others have been out, the Sixers have kept everybody involved by having a group chat and FaceTime sessions. This has been their way to continue to grow chemistry despite missing numerous contributors.
“Team group chat, FaceTime, text,” Maxey explained. “It’s tough for those guys as well. Think about it. Of course, they’re extremely sick, but they want to do what they love too. They want to come out here and help as a team and do their role, play their part in that trying to win games. So it’s really tough on them, I think to be at home, sit and have to watch us on TV knowing that they can help us.”
It’s all a waiting game at this point for the Sixers. They have to continue to support the ones out and try to bust out of their slump without their main guys.
“You got to pray for them, hope they get better,” Maxey finished. “Really pray for their health and at the end of the day, this COVID-19 virus is serious. So you just pray for whoever catches it. Just pray for the health and you really hope they can bounce back stronger.”
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