Doc Rivers Considered Shutting Joel Embiid Down for Second Half vs. Jazz

The Philadelphia 76ers lacked juice on Thursday night against the Utah Jazz. After returning home following a four-game road trip, the Sixers were likely

The Philadelphia 76ers lacked juice on Thursday night against the Utah Jazz. After returning home following a four-game road trip, the Sixers were likely fatigued, especially since Thursday's game was the second matchup of a back-to-back.

Exhaustion was to be expected, and the Sixers showed that they didn't have the energy to compete with the 17-7 Jazz on Thursday night. Following the game, 76ers head coach Doc Rivers was asked to reveal his takeaways from the matchup. As expected, there was only one positive factor -- the Sixers stayed healthy.

Other than that, Rivers knew his team simply didn't have the "it" factor to win on Thursday, and he figured that out early on. "I just thought we had great looks and couldn't make a shot," Rivers said after the game. "Every 50/50 ball, every ball it took energy to get to they got. So, you can see how the game was going."

At halftime, the Sixers trailed 61-54. While the game wasn't entirely out of reach, Rivers revealed that he considered benching his high-prized center Joel Embiid to avoid any potential injury scares during a game the Sixers were on pace to lose. 

"I actually thought about not playing Joel in the second half," Rivers said. "I just didn't see the energy, but the game was close enough to keep going. So, it's easy to second-guess it now. We gotta get some rest. We got a game on Saturday."

Rivers' decision to keep rolling with Embiid for 14 minutes in the second half nearly backfired as Embiid went back to the locker room during the third quarter as he was dealing with abdominal pain. Rivers made it clear that Embiid's mysterious setback had nothing to do with the head coach considering sitting the center for the rest of the night. 

"Just sometimes, as a coach, you look at the game, and you can see everything," Rivers finished. "Front rim, nothing with power and speed as a group. You know, you would play him because the game is still close. We could still win the game, and we actually cut it at the beginning of the third quarter. I just feel like we didn't have a lot tonight."

The Sixers dropped a three-game win streak by taking on a 118-96 loss to the Jazz on Thursday night. Now, they'll get Friday off before returning to the Wells Fargo Center to host the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night.

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