When the Philadelphia 76ers match up with the Milwaukee Bucks, normally they would turn to guys like Ben Simmons or Tobias Harris to defend superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. In this specific situation, the Sixers did not have either guy or Joel Embiid so they had to improvise.
Coach Doc Rivers went unconventional as he turned to Paul Reed to start on Tuesday and he had him defend Antetokounmpo. The second-year big man was the best defender against him by a mile on the night and he was a big reason why he was frustrated.
Antetokounmpo still went to the line 13 times, making seven of them, on his way to 31 points as the Bucks held off the Sixers 118-109, but Reed frustrated him and he even had a block on him early. It was an impressive defensive showing for him in this one.
“He was great,” said Georges Niang. “He blocks shots. That kid works so dang hard. I remember when I first got here, I was like ‘Is this dude really always in the gym, or is this like a front?’ for the first couple days of training camp. I’ll come back and shoot every once in a while and Paul Reed will be coming in right after me.”
With that being said, Reed could have done some things differently. As a coach normally does, Rivers saw something that popped out at him that his young big man could do differently.
“I thought in the second half, he kept playing him on the side, and playing Giannis on the side is like water,” Rivers explained. “He just went through him and that’s what we were talking about, he kept doing it. He didn’t do that as much in the first half. You gotta play Giannis square and make him go through your chest. If he gets you in the side, it’s over, and Giannis seizes the moment. He did that a lot in the second half.”
Reed’s stat line does not pop out. He had six points and six rebounds, but the three steals and the two blocks are what really stand out. For a guy so young and inexperienced to bother a guy like Antetokounmpo on this night was really impressive.
“He works so hard so credit to him,” Niang added. “He has good size to guard guys and he has good instincts for the ball. The kid is walking into rebounds, blocked shots, he does a great job and he’s helped us win a bunch of games this year already.”
Reed will most likely get another opportunity on Thursday against Pascal Siakam and the Toronto Raptors.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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