76ers’ Starting Lineup vs Pacers Without Joel Embiid, Paul George

Who will start for the 76ers against the Pacers?

Nov 12, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey (0) drives to the basket against Indiana Pacers forward Bruce Brown (11) during the fourth quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images / John Jones-Imagn Images

On Sunday afternoon, the Philadelphia 76ers are going to conclude their first slate of games for the 2024-2025 NBA season. The matchup serves as an opportunity for the Sixers to finally get on the right track.

Not much has gone the Sixers’ way this week. Before Wednesday’s opener against the Milwaukee Bucks, the team ruled out the star center Joel Embiid in advance.

While Embiid hasn’t been dealing with a setback, the Sixers entered the regular season with a strategy to keep Embiid on an injury management plan after he underwent surgery midway through the 2023-2024 season.

It’s not an ideal scenario for the Sixers, but they planned to roll without Embiid for at least the first three games of the season. They hoped to get the injured Paul George on the court sometime this week.

George was ruled out for Wednesday’s game, but the Sixers considered him day-to-day at first. While George joined Embiid on the two-game road trip for matchups against the Toronto Raptors and the Indiana Pacers, the Sixers eventually confirmed George would not be making his Sixers debut until next week, at the earliest.

Without George and Embiid, the Sixers have relied on Tyrese Maxey. The young one-time All-Star has struggled in the absence of his star teammates. In two games, Maxey averaged 25 points and four assists. He is shooting the ball at a 30 percent clip from the field.

On Sunday, the Sixers need a big game from Maxey, and he needs plenty of help from his supporting cast. In the absence of George and Embiid, the Sixers will once again roll out a temporary starting lineup.

Nov 14, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey (0) dribbles the ball against Indiana Pacers forward Bruce Brown (11) during the second quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

76ers Starters vs Pacers

• Tyrese Maxey

• Kyle Lowry

• Kelly Oubre

• Caleb Martin

• Andre Drummond

Maxey, Oubre, and Drummond collected starts in both games this year. As long as Embiid remains out, Drummond will continue to serve as the team’s starting center. Oubre and Maxey have been key to the Sixers’ offensive attack.

In the first game, the Sixers rolled with Eric Gordon and KJ Martin in the starting five. Nick Nurse cited spacing as a reason for Gordon’s presence and a solid all-around improvement for Martin’s.

In the second game, Nurse switched them both out. Gordon went to the bench in favor of Kyle Lowry. KJ Martin was replaced by Caleb Martin.

Coming off of back-to-back losses, the Sixers hope to get into the winner’s column on Sunday.