PHILADELPHIA–The Philadelphia 76ers went out and made a move rather quickly in free agency when they brought in PJ Tucker at the outset of the period. The veteran is known for doing all of the little things and making hustle plays not seen in the box score to help a team win.
Tucker won a championship with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021 and he was one win away from heading back to the finals in 2022 with the Miami Heat. He also was deep in the playoffs plenty of times with the Houston Rockets so he has seen it all in the NBA.
Atlanta Hawks big man Clint Capela played with Tucker in Houston and he explained why Tucker is so important out on the floor for the Sixers.
“His energy,” said Capela. “He brings willingness every night. I feel like he’s always been the guy to talk to in the locker room during halftime and what we can do better. I feel like that’s the guy on the court that always sacrifices defensively, always ready to help, always ready to bring some energy, always ready to bring extra possessions, making corner 3s. He’s always making the right decision offensively.”
If one is judging Tucker on his averages of 5.2 points and 4.6 rebounds, then one would be disappointed. The veteran out of Texas is much more than that.
“Defensively, he was always ready to guard the best guy,” Capela added. “Just talks about the guys on the defensive end. He was tremendous for us in Houston.”
Fans won’t see the importance of Tucker based on stats, but if they really watch him and see how he helps the offense run as well as his communication on the defensive end, then the understanding of his importance comes into a clearer picture.
“It’s really important whenever your team is really trying to win, trying to go deep in those playoff runs,” Capela finished. “You want to be consistent in the season and your team wants to build that chemistry to be able to win 55 to 60-plus games in the season. That’s the guy to have. His value — he helped me so much in the process — that’s what he does.”
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