CAMDEN, N.J. — The little things. That is what PJ Tucker brings to the Philadelphia 76ers. The little things are why they are on the doorstep of reaching their first Eastern Conference finals since the Allen Iverson days in 2001.
Tucker has been lighting a fire underneath his teammates when the time calls for it. He has made sure his teammates are focused on the task at hand, and he has been pushing the Sixers to communicate more.
When the Sixers convened for training camp in Charleston, South Carolina, in September, Tucker wanted to instill that communication mindset in his teammates. He wanted everybody to talk, and he has seen everybody take a step forward from Joel Embiid to Tyrese Maxey to Tobias Harris.
“A long way,” Tucker laughed about the improved communication. “I’m getting on Tyrese’s nerves. I’m driving him crazy. Jo and James and even Tobias. Tobias talks a lot more now. He’s adapted a lot and playing with me and James (Harden) and the group completely has kind of change from those days. It’s funny when I think about those days because it’s so different.”
Tucker has also seen Embiid take steps forward in his leadership style. While the MVP still doesn’t talk as much as Tucker would like, he sets a good example for this group by leading out on the floor.
“He still doesn’t talk much, but it’s more of his action,” Tucker said of Embiid. “A lot of times he just comes out of nowhere, especially on defense and on offense, just being aggressive and aggressive. When he does that, it makes it easier for everybody else to do those types of things.”
Tucker and the Sixers look to finish the Boston Celtics on Thursday night.
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