CAMDEN, N.J. — PJ Tucker does many of the little things for the Philadelphia 76ers. He does the stuff that doesn’t show up in the box score to help the Sixers win basketball games.
He boxes out multiple players to make sure Philadelphia gets rebounds. He will set the tone with a physical style of play. He will get into his teammates’ ears to ensure they get the message that they need to be better.
Coach Nick Nurse has experience coaching Tucker while with the Toronto Raptors, so he is familiar with what he brings to the table.
“He’s a unique player in this league,” Nurse beamed at practice on Monday. “When you say ‘Oh, what does our team need? Oh, I need some toughness.’ Well, then you’re gonna go to the list and it’s a pretty short, unique list of guys that just automatically bring intensity, toughness and experience to your team.”
He gave Tucker a lot of credit for helping the Sixers turn things around to win the preseason finale on Friday against the Atlanta Hawks.
“He’s gonna fight,” Nurse added. “In the game the other night, I don’t know if you look at his box score and what he had if he had anything at all, but I’m telling you, the second half, we played a lot tougher and a lot more intense because of the way he played in the first couple of possessions.”
When Tucker is active and he is flying all over the place on the defensive end of the floor, that sets the tone to demand more from his teammates in that situation.
“He just totally set the tone physicality-wise and that just went all the way down the whole path,” Nurse finished. “Everybody came flying around and seeing him in there and all that stuff so it’s a strange little thing that you love as a coach.”
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