Dean Wade starts for 76ers with LeBron James out

Wade had been questionable all day, and before the game Nick Nurse explained why the ankle had kept him out of the first 2 games.

Chris Hine

@ChristopherHine

Nick Nurse said Dean Wade (questionable still tonight) has been dealing still with some pain tolerance in his injured ankle, and ability to move side to side has been hampered and contributed to keeping him out so far.

A guy whose whole job is guarding people and sliding his feet can't play on an ankle that won't let him move side to side. So the Sixers got through a season-opening win over the Knicks and a home-opening win over the Cavaliers without him. Saturday was the first time the ankle was ready, and the timing worked out, because the Sixers suddenly needed a forward in the starting 5.

That opening came from LeBron. At 41, he sat the first night of the weekend back-to-back to manage his lower back and sciatica, according to the NBA injury report. Embiid has his own limits, and Nurse wasn't promising anything about Sunday in Detroit.

Dave McMenamin

@mcten

Nick Nurse says that while Joel Embiid will play tonight vs. MIL and LeBron James will rest, he is unsure of either their of their statuses tomorrow vs. DET. Embiid previously said he would not play both games of the b2b.

So that's the plan for now: each star plays 1 game of the back-to-back. Embiid has already said he isn't playing both, and Nurse wouldn't commit to either of them for the Pistons. A rotation that's had LeBron and Embiid together for all of 2 games will be tinkered with every weekend like this one, and that's why a healthy Wade matters more than his box score will show. Then, a little over an hour before tip, the call came in.

Dave McMenamin

@mcten

Dean Wade is cleared to play and will start tonight in his season debut in LeBron James' place, the 76ers announced.

He started next to Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Jaylen Brown and Embiid, a lineup that leans on the stars and needs its 5th guy to defend and knock down open shots. Wade took about 1 possession to show he could handle that.

Chris Hine

@ChristopherHine

First play, a welcome for Dean Wade, who nails a corner three off a feed from Maxey.

Maxey drives, the defense collapses, Wade's waiting in the corner and it's wet. That's the whole case for him in 1 play. The thing to watch now is Sunday vs. Detroit. If LeBron or Embiid sits, or both of them do, Wade's ankle is about to get a lot more minutes.