Getty Paul Reed and James Harden of the Philadelphia 76ers
With Joel Embiid out for Game 4 between the Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets, the Sixers turned to Paul Reed to start at center. In 32 minutes of action, Reed put up 10 points and 15 rebounds while shooting five-for-10 from the field.
Sixers star James Harden singled out Reed’s performance, specifically calling out Reed’s rebounding and effort while also revealing what he told Reed when the two shared the court.
“He listens. He plays hard. So you got to give him credit for that,” Harden said in his postgame press conference, per House of Highlights. “In the first half, he was getting really good offensive rebounds. He was just trying to go up and over to make difficult shots. I keep telling him, ‘Obviously if you have a putback layup, then take it, but if you feel like you don’t have a layup, get the ball out, we can get a better shot’. In the second half, he did a better job of that, and that generated more opportunities for our guards.”
Against the Nets, Reed averaged 7.3 points and seven rebounds while shooting 58.3% from the field in the sweep.
Doc Rivers Praises Paul Reed-PJ Tucker Combination
With Embiid out, the Sixers tried having Reed out with PJ Tucker on the court together. Sixers head coach Doc Rivers singled out the pairing for how they impacted the boards together.
“I didn’t love the Paul and Tuck combination together, but in the third quarter, that turned out to be great because we’ve won this series, I think, mostly because we dominated the glass,” Rivers said during his postgame, per NBA Today’s YouTube Channel.
Rivers admitted the duo would create problems for the Sixers’ spacing, which is why he tried to have one of them on the court throughout the game.
“Paul and Tuck are our two best rebounders. Let’s put them on the floor. I know it’s going to create offensive spacing problems, but let’s see what we can get, and then in the second half, really from the second quarter on, when we separated them. We played, for the most part, one of them on the floor and not both on the floor, and I thought it was good for us.”
Paul Reed Discusses Teammates’ Impact After Performance
During his postgame press conference, Reed talked about his initial struggles in Game 4
“In the first half, I came out and tried to force shots that really weren’t the best looks for the team,” Reed said, per NBA.com. “In the second half, guys got on me, gave me some good constructive criticism, and guys like Tobias (Harris), he had my back and was like, ‘We believe in you, we trust you, go out and do what you do’.”
Reed then talked about how he needs to listen to his teammates when they give him feedback because he can be a better example that way.
“I’ve just been getting coached my whole life, so it’s like, in my mind, I feel like I have to set an example for the rest of my teammates. I have to take constructive criticism and they’re all getting on me. I shouldn’t retaliate and get mad and try to get an attitude. I gotta just take it.”