Nick Nurse Shares Thoughts on Sixers Starting Lineup and Rotation

Sixers coach opens up on his starting lineup and rotation

On Thursday night, the Philadelphia 76ers will open the season against the Milwaukee Bucks. After a handful of preseason games, head coach Nick Nurse has to start making decisions regarding his starting lineup and rotation. 

Following practice on Tuesday, Nurse gave some insight into what his lineups might look like. He mentioned the team potentially has six starters, similar to how they did last year. This comment likely had to do with the unknown status of James Harden. After two weeks away from the team, Harden has returned and begun ramping up to play. 

After 10 days away, James Harden has reported back to the Philadelphia 76ers for practice today, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 25, 2023

As they continue preparing for the Bucks, De'Anthony Melton is the most likely candidate to get the nod in the starting lineup. 

“It might be down to five, yeah,” Nurse told reporters. "I just think that you had those six that started a lot of games last year. A lot of it has to do with health, how heavy the schedule is, and all those kind of things, too. That part’s probably a little clear like who’s gonna start. I think there are a couple of other areas."

As far as spots in the rotation go, multiple players impressed Nurse in the preseason. Among the names he mentioned on Tuesday were veteran Danny Green and recent signing Kelly Oubre Jr. Following their strong showings, both wings put together a compelling case for steady playing time.  

“I think the difficulties there, Danny Green was a big question mark. Was he gonna be healthy? Could he still get it done? I think he played very well. So that was another one that came into the mix there. Kelly’s (Oubre Jr.) probably got the most run there maybe because of health," Nurse continued. "These guys have all proven they can step out there and help us in a certain way and it’s just gonna be how we figure it out and how we do it night to night or what the game calls for."

Nurse also made sure to discuss Jaden Springer, who was one of the main standouts for the Sixers in the preseason. He stated that the young guard has certainly played his way into consideration for rotation minutes. 

With so many playable guards on the roster, it seems like it could take a couple weeks of regular season games before Nurse has his definite rotation.