PHILADELPHIA — Replacing a player like Tyrese Maxey is a tall order for anyone, let alone a 20-year-old rookie. The Philadelphia 76ers had no choice but to get the ball to VJ Edgecombe against the Indiana Pacers on Friday, and Edgecombe got the job done.
Edgecomb scored 14 points in the first quarter and finished with 22 points, five assists and zero turnovers. That’s an impressive stat line for a Pacers team that likes to apply pressure and use defenders to disrupt opposing ball handlers on the floor.
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With Joel Embiid, Paul George and Quentin Grimes also on the floor, the Sixers are confident in getting the ball to Edgecombe and allowing him to attack without Maxey.
“I knew I had to be more aggressive,” Edgecomb said after the win. “I’ve got to be the table-setter. Especially with Reese out. So, yeah. I’m trying to make it easy for Joe, P and Q, Jared (McCain), Dom (Barlow) and all my teammates. Just trying to make the game easy for them, take the load off them, that’s it.”
Edgecombe continues to impress everyone around him. The 76ers have many players who have achieved great things in their respective careers, and they are pleased with the performance they are seeing from their rookies. He was a big help against the Pacers, and the Sixers hope that can continue.
“Big improvement,” George said of Edgecombe. “He’s ready for this moment. Tyrese goes down, he gets up. He’s big, he’s aggressive, he’s confident. We talked a lot on the court just to keep the balance on the floor and get on the same page at the end of the game, and I thought he did a great job down the stretch.”
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This season, Edgecomb is averaging 4.0 assists and only 1.7 turnovers per game. This was an impressive performance for him as he continues to get those on-ball reps as the lead defender on this team. The Sixers will be looking for him to continue to build on that.
“I’m enjoying it, to be honest,” Edgecombe said with a smile. “I love trying to build an offense. Especially when I have elite players around me. They make it easier, so I wouldn’t say it was a really tough period because I’m surrounded by great players and they make it easy because all the attention is on them.”
Of course, there are going to be tough times for anyone in this league, no matter who they surround themselves with, but the Sixers are happy to have someone they can trust when Maxey goes down. It helps everyone move forward.
“I’m blessed to be in this position,” Edgecomb concluded. “They gave me the ball. Joel, P, even when Reese was on the floor, they were telling me to get the ball, so it just showed that they had a lot of trust in me and that helped me a lot, especially with me as a rookie. My veterans are superstars in the league and they trust me.”
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wired: Sixers confident of getting ball in VJ Edgecombe’s hands