PHILADELPHIA — Stepping in for a guy like Tyrese Maxey is a tall task for anybody, let alone a 20 year old rookie. The Philadelphia 76ers had no choice, but to put the ball in the hands of VJ Edgecombe on Friday when they took on the Indiana Pacers, and Edgecombe delivered.

Edgecombe scored 14 points in the first quarter, finished with 22 for the game, and had five assists with zero turnovers. That’s an impressive stat line against a Pacers team that loves to pressure and use their guards to bother opposing ball-handlers on the floor.

When also considering that Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Quentin Grimes were also on the floor, the Sixers felt confident putting the ball in Edgecombe’s hands with Maxey out and letting him run things offensively.

“I knew I had to be a little bit more aggressive,” said Edgecombe after the win. “I have to be the table setter. Especially, with Reese out. So, yeah. I try to make the game easy on Jo and P and Q, Jared (McCain), Dom (Barlow), all my teammates. Just try to make the game easy for them, take the load off of them, and that’s what it is.”

Edgecombe continues to impress everybody around him. The Sixers have a number of guys who have accomplished a ton in their respective careers and they have been happy with what they have seen from the rookie. He gave a big lift against the Pacers and the Sixers hope it can continue.

“Big lift,” George said of Edgecombe. “He was ready for the moment. Tyrese goes down, he steps up. He was huge. He was aggressive. He was assertive. We talked a lot on the court just getting floor balance and being on the same page to close the game out and I thought he was great down the stretch.”

For the season, Edgecombe is averaging 4.0 assists and only 1.7 turnovers. That’s an impressive showing for him as he continues to get these on-ball reps as the lead guard for this group. The Sixers will be looking for him to continue building off of that.

“To be honest, I enjoy it,” Edgecombe smiled. “I enjoy trying to set up offense. Especially, when I have elite players around me. They make it easier so I won’t say there’s been really tough times because I’m surrounded by great players and they make it easy for me because all the attention is on them.”

Of course, there are tough times for anybody in this league no matter who is around them, but the Sixers are happy to be able to have somebody they can trust when Maxey goes down. It helps everybody push forward.

“I’m blessed to be in this position,” Edgecombe finished. “They’ve given me the ball. Joel, P, even when Reese is on the floor, they tell me get the ball, so it just shows they trust me a lot and that goes a long way, especially with me being a rook. My vets are superstars in the league and they trust me.”