‘Pied Piper’ DeAndre Jordan aims to solidify the Sixers’ backup center spot

INDIANAPOLIS — When the 76ers gathered after quickly falling behind in their March 5 game at the Miami Heat, a new voice spoke up in the timeout huddle.

DeAndre Jordan had just met his teammates earlier that day, signing with the Sixers after being bought out by the Los Angeles Lakers. But he already was comfortable telling them to calmly settle in and execute. That foreshadowed the presence the veteran center already has established in less than five weeks, one that Sixers coach Doc Rivers compares to a Pied Piper.

“One big word: leadership,” said teammate Tobias Harris, who also played with Jordan for one season with the Clippers in 2017-18. " … He’s always pushing us. He understands that you only get so many chances at getting a championship, so he’s fully all-in. His leadership is huge. Everyone on the team will say it.

“Just one of the best locker-room guys in the league.”

The Sixers need Jordan to be much more than that, which is why questions about their backup center position heading into the playoffs are valid. Losing Andre Drummond — who rebounded, facilitated, took up space down low, and was a beloved teammate — was an underrated byproduct of the blockbuster trade that brought James Harden to Philly.

» READ MORE: Joel Embiid’s 45 points, 13 rebounds lift Sixers over Pacers, 131-122

The 33-year-old Jordan, who is averaging 4.4 points and 5.4 rebounds in 15 games with the Sixers with a minus-1.7 plus/minus rating, no longer is the athletic phenom that once led the league in rebounding and field-goal percentage with the “Lob City” Clippers coached by Rivers. The 37-year-old Paul Millsap, another addition from the Harden trade, also is past his prime and not a natural center. Second-year big man Paul Reed and rookie Charles Bassey (who currently is on assignment with the G League’s Delaware Blue Coats) have flashed potential that makes some outsiders salivate, but Rivers has not been ready to move them into rotation minutes. The coach said Tuesday, however, that the Sixers could go small — implying Reed could get minutes — Thursday night against a Raptors team that boasts length over size.

This stretch-run scenario could ignite unpleasant flashbacks to the brief era of Greg Monroe, who was incapable of holding it down when Embiid was off the floor during the 2019 playoffs. In that crushing Game 7 loss at Toronto, Monroe was an unplayable minus-9 in two minutes, forcing Embiid to play 45 minutes.

Today, Rivers said he feels “very comfortable” about Jordan in that spot. And when asked if he feels any pressure as Embiid’s backup, Jordan responded with an emphatic “Hell no.”

Jordan noted he has the same role on every team: rebound, protect the rim, and catch and finish lobs, a weapon Rivers said was “really important” to pair with Harden. Jordan’s familiarity with Harris has helped him get the ball to Harris at the spots he prefers on the floor, before “[making] myself available at the front of the basket.” He is still learning how to screen for Harden (another former teammate with the Nets) and Tyrese Maxey and space the floor for outside shooters Danny Green and Georges Niang. Jordan’s biggest adjustment, Rivers said, has been defensively, sharing that he called out a coverage from the Clippers that the Sixers do not run during Tuesday’s shootaround.

“I’m out there 10 to 15 minutes,” Jordan said. “Just got to go out there and be a star in my role at that time.”

Jordan totaled six points and six rebounds in nine minutes in Tuesday’s 131-122 win against the Pacers. He collected a lob from Harden shortly after entering in the second quarter, then slammed home another alley-oop early in the fourth when the Sixers’ lead had slipped. He was ejected a few minutes later — likely right before he would have exited the game for Embiid — for a Flagrant 2 foul for making contact with Duane Washington Jr.’s head while airborne at the basket, a call that left Rivers “very surprised.”

One easily can pick up the way teammates already have gravitated to Jordan.

When asked following Sunday’s win at Cleveland about his budding friendship with Niang, Niang interrupted Jordan by saying, “We’re brothers!” in a sing-song tone. After Tyrese Maxey hit his sixth three-pointer of the first half against the Pacers, Jordan waved his towel at the second-year guard as if he was cooling him off. While the officials reviewed the foul call that resulted in Jordan’s ejection, he put one arm around Harden and the other around Harris while spearheading a spirited conversation in the huddle. Unprompted after the game, Maxey recalled a message from Jordan during a third-quarter timeout “that kind of hit home,” that the Sixers can always make up for scoring droughts by getting defensive stops on the other end of the floor.

“He’s one of those guys … that could go to any team and fit in that day,” Rivers said.

Added Embiid: “He’s got great energy, great vibes. He’s always communicating, putting pressure on guys when someone is not doing their job. … He’s always talking. We all need that type of presence in the locker room, and that’s what he adds.”

Embiid is quick to playfully mention the time he “murdered” Jordan by racking up 32 points and 16 rebounds in their first meeting in Los Angeles early in the 2017-18 season. But Embiid also used to troll Drummond before appreciating him as a teammate on and off the floor.

Now, the Sixers are counting on Jordan to be a suitable Drummond replacement when it matters most. Saturday’s blowout win over the Charlotte Hornets offered a positive sign, when he threw down a reverse alley-oop dunk, turned to Harris, and curled both hands into a thumbs up.

“I automatically know he’s gonna go get it,” Harris said. “… I know that’s what gets him going as a player, too, so I’m always looking for that to throw it up to him.”