Getty James Harden and Paul Reed speak before a Philadelphia 76ers game.
After some shuffling at the backup center spot throughout the season, Philadelphia 76ers big man Paul Reed has started to tighten his grip on the spot — and has the endorsement of his star teammate.
Reed moved in and out of the rotation through the first few months of the season, but has become a staple of the second team over the last two months. Over the last month he averaged 6.1 points and 5 rebounds in 13.1 minutes per game. Reed had a strong performance in the team’s win over the Toronto Raptors on March 31, scoring 11 points with six rebounds.
After the game, teammate James Harden shared some praise for the 23-year-old center.
“Paul’s great,” Harden said, via USA Today’s Sixers Wire. “He listens. He plays hard. Obviously, he gives us that burst that we need, extra possessions. Offensively, I just tried to make the job easier for him. I get to the basket and his man commits. He missed a couple of easy ones, but we give guys like that confidence to keep going. He’s good for our team.”
Paul Reed Opens Up About Playing With Harden
Reed had reciprocated some of the praise he’s gotten from Harden, saying it’s very easy to play alongside the former league MVP.
“It’s easy when you have James Harden,” Reed said, via the Philadelphia Inquirer. “He makes it easy for all of us, and we’re trying to make it easy for him. We all know where we need to be on the court. So it’s like the spacing on the court. That allows us to put up some points.”
Doc Rivers praises Paul Reed and the Sixers bench unit 🙌🏼
The backup center spot had been a question mark through much of the season, but Reed has played every game since February 10 and earned some praise from other teammates as well. Center Joel Embiid said he has seen the 23-year-old growing more confident in his game, playing well on both ends of the floor.
“He’s just playing hard,” added Embiid. “I think his confidence is really high right now and he knows what we need from him which is playing hard and offensively, offensive rebounds, setting screens, rolling. Defensively, switching one through five and just being as aggressive as possible.”
De’Anthony Melton also took note of the energy Reed brings to the floor, especially his knack for snagging offensive rebounds.
“I don’t know how sometimes he gets a hand on some of these [offensive] rebounds,” Melton said. “But he does. That’s huge for us, getting us extra possessions, making defense for longer.
Insider Predicts Playoff Role for Paul Reed
With the playoffs quickly approaching and the Sixers close to locked into the No. 3 seed, insider Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer said he believes Reed will hold onto his spot in the rotation through the postseason. In a recent mailbag, Pompey wrote that he expects Reed to play a key role off the bench along with De’Anthony Melton, Georges Niang and Jalen McDaniels.
The James Harden + Paul Reed chemistry continues to grow
Pompey wrote that Reed has surpassed fellow big men Dewayne Dedmon and Montrezl Harrell, though he believes the Sixers could turn to the veterans in the playoffs if they need their scoring skills over Reed’s energy and defensive presence.