Tyrese Maxey’s upcoming return ‘super exciting’ for Sixers teammates as roster becomes whole

WASHINGTON — The most boisterous action following the 76ers’ Tuesday shootaround inside Georgetown University’s practice facility took place on the far basket, where staffers cheered for starting guard De’Anthony Melton to win a three-point shooting game.

Melton’s competition? Tyrese Maxey, whose long-range shots (while wearing neon green sneakers) signified he is nearing his return from a fractured foot that has kept him out since mid-November. Coach Doc Rivers added that Maxey took part in a “low-minute” scrimmage with non-rotation players and staff after the Sixers arrived in Washington on Monday.

“Super exciting,” teammate Matisse Thybulle said before the Sixers’ game against the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night. “We’ve gone on this awesome run without one of our top scorers, so to think we can add him back into the mix is just going to [take us] to another higher level.”

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Maxey missed his 18th consecutive game Tuesday night but could come back as soon as Friday at New Orleans, The Inquirer confirmed. After that, the Sixers play the second half of a back-to-back Saturday at Oklahoma City, then three home games in a row against the Pelicans (Monday), Indiana Pacers (Wednesday), and Chicago Bulls (Friday).

Maxey’s return could come while the Sixers are playing their best basketball of the season. They entered Tuesday on an eight-game winning streak to rise to fifth in the Eastern Conference at 20-12. Maxey is one of the Sixers’ most explosive scorers, averaging 22.9 points, 4.4 assists, and 3.5 rebounds while shooting 42.2% from three-point range in 15 games before the injury.

Following a relatively steady stint in the rotation, Thybulle has seen his playing time fluctuate again in recent games. He played less than seven minutes in three of the Sixers’ last four contests, including only 33 seconds during a comeback win Friday over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Thybulle, a member of the NBA’s All-Defensive second team the previous two seasons, called the uncertainty “just a new challenge.” And he feels much more mentally equipped to handle it, compared to earlier in his career.

“It’s like a survival skill,” Thybulle said. “Either you can become bitter and resentful, and then that’s going to hurt your ability to perform, or you just allow it to just be what it is. It can become fuel, or it can just be like, ‘I’m a monk, and every day is the same regardless of what external circumstances are.’”

Thybulle is not the only Sixer whose minutes have turned inconsistent recently while the team gets healthier following a rash of injuries as Rivers tinkers with lineup combinations.

Veteran forward P.J. Tucker, the Sixers’ marquee free-agent signing, has not played in the fourth quarter of the last two games. Montrezl Harrell and Paul Reed, meanwhile, are jockeying for time at backup center.

When asked if it’s a luxury to now be able to cater lineups to matchups and other in-game scenarios, Rivers said, “It’s nice, but it’s also tough for guys who don’t get consistent minutes. It just is.”

“It’s hard,” Rivers added. “I think every coach would love it to be the nine guys that were just so much better than everyone else, but your other four guys are really good. It never works that way, and we get that.”