Paul Reed Sees Benefits of Earning Steady Playing Time

Paul Reed's been playing a lot more lately. On Wednesday, the young veteran discussed where he's benefitting from seeing the court frequently.

From the start of the 2022-2023 NBA season, Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers mentioned that the backup center position would be a steady rotation of Paul Reed and Montrezl Harrell, depending on the situation.

In the past, Rivers mentioned that he likes Harrell in situations that are more offense-focused. Meanwhile, Reed is useful in defensive settings. Both players have had their moments behind Joel Embiid and even without the All-Star on the floor. 

But lately, Rivers has relied more on Reed. In the first ten games of the season, Reed appeared in seven matchups, averaging 6.5 minutes per game. While it took a few more outings before Reed steadily clocked in for over ten minutes per night, the young veteran has garnered steady minutes as of late, benefitting Reed’s development.

 "It helps a lot,” Reed said after a Wednesday afternoon practice session. “Just knowing that (Doc Rivers) trusts me enough to leave me out there and let me play through mistakes sometimes. I know I can’t make too many of them… It ain’t gonna be pretty.”

In the last ten games, Reed has averaged 18 minutes per game. He’s been productive on the boards, snagging seven rebounds per game. On offense, Reed has gotten some involvement as well, averaging seven points per game.

While Rivers and the Sixers wanted Reed to focus on being a physical defensive presence and a relentless rebounder first while allowing the rest of the game come to him, the young veteran is seeing an improvement in his finishing on offense.

“At the college level, you don’t gotta worry about that kind of stuff, or even on the G League level, you can just go right up most of the time,” Reed explained. “It’s good being able to get these reps and be better at it. I’ve just been working on finishing against taller defenders with longer arms. I know I gotta be more patient. Sometimes, I rush it, and I find myself missing more of my shots. That’s what I’ve been working on.”

Reed is seeing some great benefits of earning consistent playing time and having a longer leash than the previous two seasons. While Doc Rivers has yet to name Reed the go-to guy to back up Embiid, Everything is trending in a positive direction for the former G League MVP. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.