76ers starting lineup with Joel Embiid, Paul George out vs. Bucks

The Philadelphia 76ers host the Milwaukee Bucks for their first regular season game of the season on Wednesday night.

After taking on the Orlando Magic in their preseason finale, the Sixers had a few questions about their All-Star trio of Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George.

Star center Embiid missed the entire preseason as part of his injury management plan this offseason. While many expected Embiid to be ready for the opener, they couldn't be sure. It turns out the Sixers won't let Embiid play early in the season.

George suffered a knee injury during the team's preseason game against the Atlanta Hawks. While the nine-time All-Star received a positive diagnosis and avoided a long-term setback, a knee injury also forced him out of Wednesday's game.

Tyrese Maxey dodged a bullet. He left the preseason finale with a bruised thumb. The Sixers held him back for most of the match as a precaution. The Sixers released Maxey for practice as they returned home to begin preparations for the opening game. Maxey will play on Wednesday.

Before Wednesday's game, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse announced the team's preliminary starting lineup for the opener. As expected, the group's headliner is Tyrese Maxey.

“Why did I choose these five? Well, I just like it for several reasons. First of all, I think Tyrese, (Oubre) and (Drummond) are pretty obvious, right? We like Eric for the distance and shooting. KJ had a great fall. We like his defensive abilities. He also gets to the basket well and grabs offensive rebounds well,” Nurse explained.

During the offseason, the Sixers signed Caleb Martin to a multi-year contract. Martin was expected to start alongside star trio Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George, but Nurse is going in a different direction on Wednesday.

“He’s one of our top five players, hands down,” Nurse said of Caleb Martin. “Just like the feeling of his energy after the bench, a far cry from what he gave up. It's really a matter of four, five or six minutes. He’ll probably play starting minutes, and I imagine he’ll play as many minutes as he can physically handle tonight.”