The summer league is very beneficial for younger players to get the necessary reps and court time to grow and develop as a player.
Philadelphia 76ers second-year big man Paul Reed used this time wisely as he showed much improvement in his game. Defensively, he called out schemes and led on that end of the floor. Offensively, he showed obvious improvements with his control and his jumper.
“Paul had such a good showing at the G League bubble that he came in and he put a lot of pressure on himself to play well,” said summer league coach Brian Adams. “So at first, he might have been pressing a little in that first game, and we talked to him, we showed him film, and I think after that he hit the ground running.”
Reed needed to understand he just needed to do the little things that a role player does to help the team win. Once he understood that, everything else came easy and he earned a spot on the All-Summer League second team.
“We’ve been preaching to him, if he does the little things, big things come from it, and he’s done all this type of great stuff role players do,” Adams added. “He defends 1 through 5. He defends the rim. He defends one-on-one. Offensively, he gets to dribble hand-offs to the second side. He rolls. He can pop. Nobody’s working on his jump shot this offseason (more) than Paul, and these last two games we got to see a look at it and so I’m really happy for him.”
Reed has a maniacal work ethic and he wants to be a great player in this league. While he has a ways to go, the second-year big man has a nice foundation to build off.
“Nobody wants it more than Paul, so it was a really great way to finish it,” Adams finished. “I think as soon as that first game ended, we got a great Paul the rest of the time and it wasn’t to say he was bad that first game, I just think he had to hit the ground and get a feel for what it was gonna be like and he really started running after that first game.”
Now, Reed has to carry this with him to training camp at the end of September to battle and earn a spot on the roster.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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