PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia 76ers veteran PJ Tucker continues to make an impact in his first season in the City of Brotherly Love despite not putting up crazy scoring numbers.
In Philadelphia’s Game 2 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Monday, Tucker did not score, yet his presence was felt. He had eight rebounds, three assists and countless other plays that didn’t show up in the box score to help the Sixers.
Nets coach Jacque Vaughn, who was an assistant for the Nets in the 2021 playoffs, respects Tucker and what he brings to the table on a nightly basis.
“I’ve enjoyed watching him his entire career,” Vaughn said. “We had a series with him when he was with Milwaukee. You give guys like that credit where you see he feels like the ultimate teammate. He shows up, he does his work, he does his job every single night.”
As mentioned, Tucker does so many little things to help the Sixers win games. He made a big difference in making sure they received extra possessions, and he bothered the Nets on the defensive end. Those are the little plays a team needs to win in the playoffs.
“Some things that don’t go on the stat sheet, those 50/50 balls, the physicality that he played with,” Vaughn added on Tucker. “So we’ll have to match that, but you give him credit for doing his job every single night.”
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