Joel Embiid was rested in the Sixers’ 113-103 Monday night victory over the Trail Blazers, as he has been dealing with right knee soreness.
That led to Andre Drummond getting the start at center, something he wasn’t aware of despite head coach Doc Rivers planning on that being the case.
“He hit me with the okie-doke today,” Drummond said of Embiid after the game. “Usually he’ll take a couple plays off in shootaround just to rest, so I didn’t really know what was going on until I got here. And I saw the alert on Twitter. I said, ‘Oh s—, I’m starting today.’ So that’s how I found out. Great, great team win for us.”
Drummond had 14 points and 15 rebounds, which was to be expected, but he also had seven assists, which many people weren’t expecting, except his coach.
“He’s an excellent passer,” Rivers said. “He likes to gamble with his passes quite a bit, so that’s something that we are talking about.”
Drummond also believes that his teammates are now more aware of his passing abilities given that he’s had a few practices with them.
“I think in the past couple weeks, just with these games and the short practices we’ve had, I think guys are more alert now because they know I’m a willing passer,” Drummond said. “I’m going to get the ball to you, so be prepared and be ready to shoot.”
Drummond also filled up the stat sheet even further defensively, finishing with five steals and a block.
“I don’t think I have anything to prove,” Drummond said. “Anybody that’s watched me in my career knows what I’m capable of. This is nothing new; it’s something I do on a nightly basis, just in a different role.”
Embiid is a good bet to miss at least a few games in any given season, so it’s a great thing the Sixers brought in the former All-Star, as he proved he can still be a force inside the paint and be effective in other ways that translates well to the modern NBA, except for, of course, his shooting.
With that being said, Drummond is a great insurance policy for whenever Embiid is forced to miss games.
