CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers made a big move at the outset of free agency when they brought in PJ Tucker on a deal. The veteran out of Texas is looking to bring his championship savvy and hard-nosed play to Philadelphia.
Tucker has made an impact in Philadelphia as a talker on the defensive end in training camp. With the season beginning on Tuesday, he is continuing to make that impact and push the Sixers in the right direction.
Coach Doc Rivers has the confidence to throw Tucker onto any offensive player and give the Sixers some help on that end.
“It gives you a lot of confidence,” said Rivers. “It’s just like all offensive roles. Well, it’s great when you have defensive roles, where we have a guy ‘Hey, you take him’ and everybody wants that, but I think we have several guys. I think we have Danuel House who can do it at the guard spot and the 3 spot and De’Anthony Melton can do it at the point or the two. I think we have, and Matisse (Thybulle), we have four guys that have the ability to have a shutdown night. They’re all relievers when you think about it.”
James Harden played with Tucker while with the Houston Rockets, so he understands what the veteran brings to the table.
“PJ just does what he does, man,” Harden added. “Whether it’s his communication, whether it’s his IQ on the basketball court, especially on the defensive end, he just brings that missing piece that I felt like we needed last year along with De’Anthony, along with Montrezl (Harrell) and D-House, but PJ is just a vet. He’s been in the Eastern Conference finals last year, won a championship the year before, so he just knows.”
A guy like Tucker who does all of the little things makes life easier for Harden and Joel Embiid to do the heavy lifting on the offensive end.
“He’s just a winner,” The Beard finished on Tucker. “Like he has zero points but he made an impact on the game and that’s all he cares about his winning. The more players that we can have like that on our team, me and Joel will carry the heavy load.”
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