Getty P.J. Tucker and Tobias Harris of the Philadelphia 76ers
While P.J. Tucker’s averages with the Philadelphia 76ers this season won’t jump out much – averaging 3.2 points, 3.9 rebounds while shooting 42.7% from the field – his teammate Tobias Harris stresses that what he has brought to the table is very valuable for the Sixers’ upcoming playoff run.
While talking with Ky Carlin of Sixers Wire, Harris said that what Tucker brings is why the Sixers are looking forward to their upcoming playoff run.
“Honestly, what he’s been bringing to the team all year,” Tobias Harris said of Tucker. “His toughness, his physicality, his defensive mindset, and approach. So all those things, myself and the whole group is excited for.”
Not only does Tucker have a title to his name, having won it all with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021, but he has also made multiple conference finals, having played in them with the Bucks, Houston Rockets, and Miami Heat.
Tyrese Maxey Sounds Off on Facing PJ Tucker Last Year
The Sixers were all too familiar with Tucker before he signed with them during the offseason, as Tucker was part of the Heat team that eliminated the Sixers in the Eastern Conference semifinals in six games.
Among those who remembered the impact Tucker had on that series was Tyrese Maxey, who said that even though his box score stats weren’t all too impressive, his impact felt much bigger than that.
“I remember last year just playing against him,” Maxey recalled to Carlin. “It was particular times in the playoffs where he would get maybe a tap-out rebound and he’ll hit a corner 3. He would have like eight points and five rebounds and it would feel like he had 25 points and 10 rebounds. The impact he was making in every single game we would play against them was huge and now I’m just happy he’s on our team.”
In that series, Tucker averaged 8.2 points and 5.2 rebounds while shooting 52.5% from the field and 43.8% from three in those six games.
After that series, Maxey revealed that he’s told Tucker how happy he is to have him on his side now.
“I literally just told him that,” Maxey said of Tucker. “Like ‘I couldn’t stand you last year, now I’m glad you’re with us.’”
Tobias Harris Singles Out Mikal Bridges
When it was set in stone that the Sixers would face off against the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs, Harris singled out Nets wing Mikal Bridges for how he’s been since joining them midseason while talking with Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
“He’s good,” Harris told Pompey. “He’s ballin’. So he will be a big piece for them in the playoffs. We have to be able to make all of his looks tough.”
The Nets acquired Bridges, among others, at the NBA Trade Deadline in exchange for Kevin Durant.
Since joining the Nets, Bridges has averaged 26.1 points while shooting 47.5% from the field and 37.6% from three. Bridges also averaged 18.6 field goal attempts a game while shooting 5.9 free throw attempts a game in 27 games.
Though the Sixers swept their division rival in their season series, they faced off against the current Nets team only once on February 11, where they won 101-98.