76ers: How PJ Tucker Lit Fire Under Paul Reed in Game 1 vs. Nets
The Philadelphia 76ers can typically rely on their backup center Paul Reed to bring immediate energy off the bench and be a fire starter from the moment he takes the floor.
In Game 1 against the Brooklyn Nets, Sixers veteran forward PJ Tucker didn’t see the same Paul Reed he’s used to witnessing on the court.
So, what did he do? Tucker verbally attempted to light a fire under Reed.
“I cussed Paul Reed out at halftime,” Tucker told reporters. “I felt like he didn’t have the energy. He wasn’t being there on time and doing a lot of things.”
In the first half, Reed was productive on the stats sheet during his seven-minute shift as he converted on both of his shot attempts and scored four points. But a zero-rebound shift out of Reed is a rare sighting, and Tucker didn’t want to see it again.
“He came on in the second half and responded,” Tucker claimed.
In a game that involved a handful of stars putting together signature performances, Reed was a standout himself. In six minutes, the veteran backup drained three of his four shots from the field for seven points. He also grabbed four rebounds, with two of those boards coming on the offensive end.
Tucker now hopes that Reed’s second-half turnaround will translate to the start of Game 2, or else he’ll have to utilize the same strategy.
“I told everybody I’ll else curse Paul out every halftime because he got a lot of rebounds,” Tucker continued. “His energy was good. He was in help. He had good switches and finishes. He was just night and day, so we need him and I’m always staying on him because we really need him.”
Reed finished Game 1 by leading the Sixers’ bench unit in scoring with 11 points in 13 minutes. He also had four boards, wrapping up the game as a plus-three and helping the Sixers collect a 121-101 win over the Nets.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.
