Doc Rivers Explains Decision to Roll With Paul Millsap in Joel Embiid's Absence

When the Philadelphia 76ers geared up for their matchup against the Miami Heat on Monday night, the Sixers had an idea they might not have their star center Joel Embiid on the court when they host the Eastern Conference's top seed.

In the few games leading up to the Monday night matchup, Embiid was listed as questionable. After taking a hard fall last Monday, Embiid's been battling back soreness. However, it hasn't kept him off the floor.

Despite being considered a game-time decision ahead of the matchups against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, and the Toronto Raptors, Embiid got cleared to play every time and played without a minutes restriction.

However, when it came to Monday night's game, Embiid was ruled out not too long after getting added to the injury report as questionable.

Resting his sore back on the second night of a back-to-back made sense for the star center. Although the Sixers tend to rely on Embiid more often than not, he needed a night off. And since Embiid was slated to miss the action on Monday night, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers had the shake up the lineup.

On nights when Embiid plays, the veteran big man DeAndre Jordan is the five-time All-Star's primary backup. But Jordan didn't get the nod to start on Monday. And while many thought that perhaps Paul Reed or Charles Bassey would get a shot, Rivers elected to roll with the veteran Paul Millsap instead.

Rivers Explains His Decision

"I just like (DeAndre Jordan) off the bench," Rivers explained. "I also thought with Shake and Furk, we needed a roller with that group. With Tobias and Tyrese, you didn't necessarily need the roller as much. So that's why we did it."

Last season, when Embiid would miss time, Doc Rivers would often avoid starting the primary backup, Dwight Howard. He wanted to keep things familiar by having the backup continue to grow chemistry with their natural unit.

While Rivers didn't take the same approach with Andre Drummond earlier in the year, he went back to it with Jordan on Monday night.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.