The Philadelphia 76ers are in a bit of an interesting situation. While Joel Embiid returned to the lineup on Saturday after missing 10 games due to a bone bruise in his left knee, Philadelphia has a bit of a depth problem in those games where the big fella can’t go like Sunday.
The Sixers were in a good spot with their depth behind Embiid when they had Tony Bradley to lean on, but now they are down to just Dwight Howard. When Embiid can’t go, coach Doc Rivers will turn to Mike Scott to start in his place due to the consistency of having Howard with the second unit.
Another option could be rookie Paul Reed who made big strides in the G League bubble winning MVP for the 2021 season, but Rivers does not believe he is ready to play center in the NBA for extensive minutes.
“I haven’t,” said Rivers when asked if he had thought about starting Reed at center when Embiid is out. “I like Paul, but I don’t think he’s ready. Just straightforward.”
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Reed had 10 points and six rebounds in mop-up duty in Sunday’s loss to the Memphis Grizzlies and even he acknowledged he has a lot to learn. He is beginning to learn the team’s defensive rotations, but he is also trying to deal with the bigger guys at this level. He has to be able to get stronger and continue developing.
“I know where to go on defense,” said Reed. “I know the rotations and schemes. I think it’s two things, just making sure I’m communicating loud early and often and making sure I keep getting stronger every day because I’m playing against some big boys. Ain’t nothing sweet down there.”
Reed can get stronger by working out with Howard on a regular basis. Howard has been in the league for 17 years and has kept himself in impeccable shape, so Reed being around him will help in that regard.
“Oh yeah, all the time,” Reed said of Howard. “All the time. We work out together a lot. That’s my vet for sure.”
Then, there is the mental side of the game. That is when he turns to Embiid for help to get his questions answered and learn that side. Embiid has had to battle through a ton of adversity in his career and overcoming that side of the game will help Reed going forward.
“It’s mental,” the rookie added. “You gotta approach the game mentally and that’s more important than physically sometimes. I kind of picked that up from him just from talking to him, having live conversations.”
Reed will eventually get his chance, but right now, it is more about learning and continuing to develop his game.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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