Joel Embiid Gets Credit for Playing Point Guard Role vs. Pacers

When a league-leading playmaker such as James Harden isn’t on the court, it takes a committee of guys to make up for his absence. On Saturday night, the Philadelphia 76ers faced the Indiana Pacers without Harden, who got the night off due to injury management.

Several players stepped up to play point guard for the Sixers — including the seven-footer Joel Embiid.

As a team, the Sixers produced 31 assists on Saturday night in their win against the Pacers. Embiid tied with the starting point guard Tyrese Maxey by producing a team-high of seven assists. After the game, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers noted Embiid’s value in the passing game on Saturday.

“I was really happy,” Rivers told reporters. “Everybody contributed, and I loved that we moved the ball tonight. Joel, at times, was our point guard. You know, he just kind of let them come, move the ball, he had six assists or whatever he had, but he probably had 15 hockey assists where because of what they were trying to do led to the basket and that was just terrific.”

Overall, the Sixers had a stellar showing against the Pacers. The team shot 61 percent from the field and drained 15 of their 35 threes. As Embiid had one of his slower scoring nights in the first half of the matchup, the big man deferred shots to his teammates, who rewarded him with assists.

“I feel like, if I wanted to be a playmaker, I could be, but I don’t need to because I’ve got the best playmaker in the league,” Embiid said, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Gina Mizell. “In the games that he doesn’t play, I take on that role, and it’s fun."

Overall, Embiid had another dominant showing on Saturday. Along with his seven assists, he scored 31 points. He also came down with seven rebounds and blocked two shots on the defensive end as Philadelphia defeated the Pacers 141-121.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.