MIAMI — The Philadelphia 76ers will be extremely short-handed when they take on the Miami Heat in at least the first two games of the Eastern Conference semifinals. With Joel Embiid sidelined, the Sixers will go with a center by committee approach until the big fella returns.
Philadelphia will look at every option at center, but Paul Reed will get a good look after being the backup big man in the first round against the Toronto Raptors. Reed averaged 4.2 points and 3.5 rebounds in 10 minutes off the bench in that series. He also gave the team a ton of energy.
Heading into this series with the Heat, Reed will have to do more.
“No expectation,” Reed said. “Just be ready when my name’s called, go out there, and provide my team with a ton of energy.”
The Heat present their own issues at the big spots in this series. The Raptors had a bunch of guys around 6-foot-8 with long wingspans. Miami has more traditional big men. That is something Reed will have to contend with, but because the rest of the roster is more traditional, it might help Philadelphia on the glass.
“One of the challenges is their bigs are bigger, but other than that, I don’t see too much different,” Reed added. “It might be easier, because there’s not as many 6-foot-9 dudes crashing the glass. So it might be a little easier.”
The biggest challenge with Reed in this series will be his propensity to foul. The Heat are a smart team. They know how to draw fouls and get into the paint. That is going to present a challenge for Reed in this series. The series with Toronto helped him understand what he has to do.
“I think I grew, especially as far as controlling how I play defense and fouling and stuff like that. I grew a lot,” he added. “They’re definitely going to target me. I’m definitely a target, but I understand that and know I need to control my hands, basically.”
Reed will also have to do more with James Harden. Normally, Embiid is the one to work with Harden, but, obviously, that responsibility falls on Reed.
“I’m prepared,” he finished. “I talk to James a lot and we’ve got a little system now. … We know what to do when they’re switching. We know what to do. It’s really a read. We’ve got to read the defense, so how they’re going to play us, and that’s how we’ll make our adjustments.”
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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