Nick Nurse 'Probably' Starting Dean Wade for Jaylen Brown is a Fantasy Nightmare

There are lineup downgrades, and then there is replacing a Ferrari with a 2008 Honda Civic. According to Underdog NBA, Philadelphia 76ers head coach Nick Nurse announced that Dean Wade will "probably" start in place of an injured Jaylen Brown this Friday.

Hearing the word "probably" from an NBA head coach is usually code for a decision that was made three days ago. But sliding Wade into the starting five completely changes the geometry of the floor for Philadelphia, taking a massive chunk of offensive creation and throwing it directly out the window.

"Lineup alert: Dean Wade will 'probably' start for injured Jaylen Brown on Friday, per coach Nurse."

For context, Brown has been cooking on one day of rest this season, averaging 24.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists. Wade is a career 5.8-point scorer who is mostly out there to set screens, play defense, and try not to mess up the spacing for the guys who actually shoot the basketball.

The Sixers can afford to experiment a little right now. They are sitting pretty at 4-1 and second in the Eastern Conference, largely thanks to a suffocating defense that ranks third in the league with a 103.5 rating. Wade fits that defensive identity, even if his offensive bag is mostly just a single reusable grocery sack.

If you are staring at your fantasy app or looking at Friday's prop markets, do not let the starting nod fool you into backing Wade. The real market movement here belongs to Tyrese Maxey, who is already pouring in a team-high 28.4 points per game and is about to see his usage rate touch the stratosphere with Brown in street clothes.

The New York Knicks roll into Philly at 7:30 PM ET on Friday. We will find out exactly what Nurse's version of "probably" looks like, and whether Wade can survive the spotlight of a prime-time Eastern Conference clash without looking completely out of place.