Predicting 76ers' Starting Lineup on Saturday With LeBron James Out

James will miss his first game of the season on the front end of a back-to-back for Philadelphia.

Oct 22, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers Joel Embiid (21) and LeBron James (23) and Jaylen Brown (7) and Tyrese Maxey (0) walk back on the court after a break in action against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the fourth quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

For the first time on the young NBA season, the Philadelphia 76ers will be missing a member of their new-look starting lineup. Sixers star forward LeBron James was ruled out of Philadelphia's Saturday night matchup at home against the Milwaukee Bucks due to lower back and sciatica management.

This isn't necessarily a surprise, as the game against the Bucks represents the first night of a back-to-back for the Sixers, who will also host the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night. At nearly 42 years old, James isn't expected to play in both legs of back-to-backs this season.

The same could be said about star center Joel Embiid, who has an extensive injury history and likely won't be playing in games on consecutive nights either. So, we should expect James to be available against Detroit, while Embiid will likely be sidelined.

In the meantime though, the Sixers have to fill the void left in the starting lineup by James' absence.

76ers have starting lineup options vs. Bucks with LeBron James sidelined

Option 1: Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Jaylen Brown, Dean Wade, Joel Embiid

If Dean Wade were available, he would be the logical choice to fill the forward spot in the first five. But as of publishing, Wade is still considered questionable for the game against Milwaukee. Plus, since he hasn't played yet this season, it remains to be seen if Nick Nurse would be comfortable throwing him directly into the starting lineup.

LeBron James on Dean Wade: “He fits on any basketball team on the planet.” #Sixers pic.twitter.com/JMv2KBJhIV

— Ky Carlin (@Ky_Carlin) October 9, 2026

Option 2: Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Jaylen Brown, Joel Embiid

Outside of Wade, the Sixers have a couple other options. They could opt to go with a small-ball look that would inlcude moving Jaylen Brown to the four spot next to Embiid and starting Kentavious Caldwell-Pope alongside Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe. This lineup would maximize Philadelphia's ability to switch on the perimeter defensively, but it could cause problems in the rebounding department.

Option 3: Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Jaylen Brown, Jabari Walker, Joel Embiid

The other option would be starting Jabari Walker in the power forward spot, which would allow the rest of the starters to remain in their natural position. But, Walker has played just seven total minutes so far this season, so it's fair to wonder how comfortable Nurse would be with inserting him into the starting lineup.

Final prediction: KCP gets the nod alongside Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Jaylen Brown, Joel Embiid

Knowing Nurse, he likes his veterans, and he has no issue with playing some small-ball, so my prediction is that Caldwell-Pope will get the nod in James' place and start alongside Maxey, Edgecombe, Brown and Embiid.

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