Tag: Paul Reed

Paul Reed believes Heat served as wake up call for Sixers to prep for Knicks

Paul Reed believes the Miami Heat served as a wake up call for the Philadelphia 76ers to prepare for the New York Knicks.

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers passed their first postseason test on Wednesday when they defeated the Miami Heat, 105-104, in the play-in tournament. Now, their attention turns to the New York Knicks in the first round of the playoffs.

The Heat are the defending Eastern Conference champions and they have been through every battle and scenario one can throw at them. The Sixers were down 14 and dug deep to rally and advance.

Knocking off a Heat team that plays with such physicality and tenacity was a big test and will help the Sixers prepare for the Knicks.

“Absolutely,” Paul Reed told Sixers Wire. “First of all, it just gets our mind right. It gets us already expecting to play at that level again in a few days and I think it’s good that we had kind of like a wake-up call. It’s only gonna get harder from here. It’s not gonna get easier.”

The Knicks are just as physical as the Heat and have more size with Isaiah Hartenstein and Mitchell Robinson. While Miami wanted to force Philadelphia into turnovers and bad shots with its zone defense, New York looks to swarm the Sixers with its length and man-to-man defense.

“They’re a team that’s gonna play extremely hard,” added Reed. “They’re gonna be extremely physical with us. So I feel like that’s gonna be one of the biggest challenges that we’re gonna have to face going against the New York Knicks.”

The Heat did their job in Philadelphia’s case. They gave the Sixers a taste of what the postseason will be like. Now, the Sixers must use that experience against the Knicks.

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76ers’ Paul Reed just gave the Knicks unnecessary bulletin-board material

The last thing the tough Knicks need is more motivation.

Everyone knows that, on paper, the New York Knicks are a better matchup for Eastern Conference NBA playoff teams this year than the Boston Celtics. It shouldn’t be controversial to think wanting the 50-win opponent over the one that won 64 games is better for your team’s chances.

But if you’re actually one of the players going up against the Knicks very soon, you probably shouldn’t share these thoughts in public. Oh no.

During Thursday’s episode of Run It Back on FanDuel TV, Philadelphia 76ers backup big man Paul Reed came on the show to discuss his team’s recent play-in win and their upcoming first-round series against the Knicks.

RELATED: For The Win’s 2024 NBA playoffs predictions, from dark horses to the NBA Finals. 

When asked about the 76ers’ play-in thought process in potentially playing the Knicks or Celtics, Reed openly said that the Knicks were the “easier” matchup. Again, that’s probably a true statement. But if you’re someone actually playing against that team, that’s not something you should say on television!

The Knicks are one of the best defensive teams in NBA basketball. They make you work for every single inch for all 48 minutes, and they beat you up in the process while doing it. While yes, the Knicks are likely an easier matchup than the Celtics, you typically don’t want to feed tough-nosed teams like them any bulletin-board material.

Good job to Paul Reed. He may have just motivated the grinding Knicks even more.

Paul Reed reveals Sixers wanted Knicks in Round 1 rather than Celtics

Paul Reed reveals the Philadelphia 76ers wanted to face the New York Knicks rather than the Boston Celtics in Round 1 of the playoffs.

The Philadelphia 76ers handled business, defeating the Miami Heat in the play-in game on Wednesday, 105-104. The win secured the No. 7 seed in the East and a date with the New York Knicks in the first round.

The other option for Philadelphia, if it had lost to the Heat, would been another play-in game to determine the No. 8 seed, which would faced the No. 1 Boston Celtics.

Sixers big man Paul Reed hopped on “Run it Back” with FanDuel and might have given the Knicks some bulletin board material:

We ain’t ducking no smoke, but yeah. We wanted the Knicks matchup. Of course, that’s the easier team, I guess, but it’s gonna be fun. We match up pretty well with them. They’ve got a great guard. We’ve got a great guard. We also got Joel (Embiid), you know, MVP. So like you said earlier, he’s one of the most unstoppable guys in the league right now. So they’re gonna have to send triple teams. He’s gonna get everybody else involved. I’m sure of it.

To Reed’s point, any team would obviously want to play the Knicks instead of the Celtics. The Sixers have had their troubles with Boston in the past and New York, while an obviously tough team that deserves respect, is not quite the challenge the Celtics are.

Either way, NBA teams will use anything for motivation so one has to wonder how the Knicks will take what Reed said about them.

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Paul Reed looking to make impact vs. Bam Adebayo, help Sixers beat Heat

Paul Reed is looking to make an impact against Bam Adebayo and help the Philadelphia 76ers defeat the Miami Heat in the play-in.

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers will play host to the Miami Heat on Wednesday night in the 7 vs. 8 play-in tournament matchup to determine the No. 7 seed in the East. The winner will head to the first round while the loser will prepare for another play-in game.

The Sixers and the Heat have been preparing all week for this important matchup and a number of topics have been discussed. Topics include Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro and the zone defense that the Heat will almost certainly throw at the Sixers.

Another topic that needs to be addressed is Heat star Bam Adebayo. He is an All-Star who is one of the better defenders in the game, but he can also be a big contributor on the offensive end as well. He’s somebody young Paul Reed would like to make an impact against.

“For me, it’s great,” Reed said at shootaround on Wednesday morning. “It’s great experience. It’s a great opportunity for me to get better and work on stuff. He’s an All-Star caliber player so it’s great.”

Adebayo and the Heat are led by coach Erik Spoelstra who is one of the best coaches in the league. His different defensive schemes are going to challenge the Sixers, and it’s something Reed and the rest of the group will have to prepare for.

“They play extremely hard,” Reed said of the Heat. “They’re coached by a very good coach and he’s gonna throw a lot of schemes at us and he’s gonna make adjustments and we’re gonna have to be prepared for it.”

The play-in tournament isn’t necessarily a playoff game. It has playoff implications and there is a lot on the line, but it isn’t categorized as a playoff game or anything like that.

However, the Heat have been here before and they know what it takes. The Sixers will have to be prepared for a battle on Wednesday.

“It feels like a real playoff game,” Reed finished. “You gotta go out there and handle business and play together and take it very seriously.”

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Nick Nurse wants to see more Joel Embiid-Paul Reed lineups for Sixers

Coach Nick Nurse wants to see more Joel Embiid-Paul Reed lineups for the Philadelphia 76ers down the stretch.

The Philadelphia 76ers handled business on Saturday night, taking care of the banged-up Memphis Grizzlies, 116-96, for their fourth consecutive win. The Sixers now look to pick up another win when they visit the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday.

The Grizzlies missing so many pieces and the game turning into a blowout allowed coach Nick Nurse to experiment with his lineups. It was brief, but  the Sixers ran Joel Embiid and Paul Reed together for the final two minutes of the first half.

Philadelphia went on a 12-3 run to end the half and built a 20-point halftime lead as Embiid and Reed played some stingy defense in the paint.

“It was pretty good,” Nurse told reporters after the win. “I’ve been trying to get to it here for a little bit. It gave us a chance to look at it tonight. I think there is still some viability in it. I said that at the beginning of the season. I haven’t had a chance to use it really all season, but I think there’s an option there and I’d like to continue to look at it.”

With four games left in the season, one has to wonder how much Nurse and the Sixers will use the Embiid and Reed lineups. Philadelphia faces some bad teams, starting with the Spurs on Sunday, the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday and the Brooklyn Nets on April 14.

One has to figure that there will be opportunities for Nurse to implement some Embiid-Reed lineups at some point during the stretch.

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Sixers highlight play of Kelly Oubre Jr., others in key road win over Heat

The Philadelphia 76ers highlight the play of Kelly Oubre Jr. and the supporting cast after a critical win over the Miami Heat.

MIAMI — The Philadelphia 76ers picked up a 109-105 win over the host Miami Heat on Thursday that brought them within a half game of Miami for seventh in the Eastern Conference standings. With five games left, the Sixers need every win if they are to move up in the East.

The box score Thursday night shows Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid were dominant. Maxey had 37 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds. Embiid had 29 points. The Heat had no answer for them.

However, other guys stepped up and gave the Sixers a boost. Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 18 points, including seven in the fourth quarter, and KJ Martin and Paul Reed turned in huge defensive efforts to slow Miami.

“We were down eight or so with five or six minutes to go and Kelly made a couple of huge plays and kind of jump-started us back in there and then I just thought we were playing good defense for a long time,” said coach Nick Nurse. “We just couldn’t grab a rebound. We were really busting our butts to play, but we just couldn’t get a rebound and then we finally started getting some. I thought Paul Reed and KJ were huge. They were just trying really hard and snatched a few of those away.”

Oubre jump-started the Sixers on the offensive end: He had a couple of tough looks fall. His offensive charge allowed Philadelphia to begin pulling away from the Heat.

“He was big time,” Tyrese Maxey said of Oubre. “He was big time. I think early in the game, Joel had it going, I had it going a little bit, and I just told him it’s gonna come a time we’re gonna need you to hoop. They’re gonna start loading up on the boat for us and it’s your time to go out there and be aggressive and do what you do, and he did that.”

Martin and Reed also led a defensive charge that held the Heat to one field goal over the final 8:19 of the game. Kevin Love knocked down a fadeaway to put Miami up 99-93, and the Heat didn’t make another field goal until a Terry Rozier triple with 45.5 seconds left.

“KJ Martin, Paul Reed, it was huge,” added Maxey. “I mean, what they did on defense and when we zone and we went man, and they got a bit rebound as well. I told P-Reed you gotta go get them and he was gonna get them all. So that was huge. That was big time and then Joel came in and finished it out.”

The Sixers gained the critical win over the Heat. Now, they gotta take care of business against two struggling teams, the Memphis Grizzlies and the San Antonio Spurs, to finish the trip.

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Sixers big man Paul Reed learning a lot from veteran Kyle Lowry

Philadelphia 76ers big man Paul Reed is learning a lot from veteran teammate Kyle Lowry.

PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia 76ers veteran Kyle Lowry has seen it all in his 18-season Hall of Fame career. He has seen every scenario, every defensive scheme and every possible situation one can see while playing the game of basketball.

Now at 38 years old, Lowry is able to pass down his knowledge to the younger players in the league.

For example, Sixers big man Paul Reed learned a great deal from Lowry and what he brings to the floor.

“He does a lot, man,” Reed told Sixers Wire. “Having a veteran guy like that, that has experience and championship games and knows ins and outs of the NBA and referees and all that. I mean, it’s a huge plus because he’s a great leader. He leads. Not just me, but he leads everybody on the team and guiding everybody to do the right thing. He’s like a coach for real.”

Lowry is a great communicator out on the floor. One can see him barking out instructions to his teammates and making sure they’re all in the right spots to have success defensively and offensively.

His basketball IQ is off the charts, something Reed is learning from his veteran teammate.

“I will say just the way that he thinks the game,” Reed added. “He takes it to another level. I’ve kind of picked up on that as I’ve been around him. Just trying to understand more the point guard vision. What they see rather than what I see as a big.”

Reed is going to play a big role in whatever the Sixers do in the playoffs when April 20 rolls around. Whatever the challenges may be, Lowry will be there to help him through it all.

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Paul Reed gives respect to James Harden ahead of matchup with Clippers

Philadelphia 76ers big man Paul Reed gives love to James Harden ahead of their matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers.

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers acquired James Harden from the Brooklyn Nets at the 2022 trade deadline, sending Ben Simmons out in the deal. Harden did some terrific things as a member of the Sixers, but the relationship went south during the 2023 offseason.

Harden wasn’t happy with how events unfolded in Philadelphia. He called out President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey over the summer, and he was steadfast about wanting to be sent to the Los Angeles Clippers.

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After considerable time going back and forth, Morey obtained a package he wanted for Harden to ensure the Sixers remained competitive. In 79 games for Philadelphia, he averaged 21 points, 10.6 assists and shot 37% from deep.

As the Sixers prepare to face Harden and the Clippers on Sunday, Paul Reed gave a lot of love and respect to his former teammate.

“He dropped hella dimes off to me, I feel like,” Reed told Sixers Wire while smiling. “He made the game a lot easier for all of us in a way. He was a great leader when he was here.”

Harden is an obvious future Hall of Famer and is one of the best to ever play the game. Despite the playoff shortcomings in Philadelphia, The Beard did a number of good things for Reed and the Sixers as a leader and getting everybody involved. He was a good example for the younger players.

“To me, I just learned from him,” Reed added of Harden. “Just his tendencies and off-the-court habits and stuff like that. Just see how he moves and he’s still an extremely successful player so I just tried to learn what he does off the court to stay sane and keep it pushing so I kinda took that from him.”

Harden is leading the Clippers as the situation didn’t work out in Philadelphia, but he had an effect on the Sixers and his former teammates felt it.

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Doc Rivers gives thoughts on development of Tyrese Maxey, Paul Reed

Doc Rivers gives his thoughts on the development of Philadelphia 76ers youngsters Tyrese Maxey and Paul Reed.

MILWAUKEE — The first rookie class of the Doc Rivers era for the Philadelphia 76ers was led by Tyrese Maxey and Paul Reed. Both were selected in the 2020 NBA draft, and they developed and learned from Rivers to become the players they are today.

Maxey is a legitimate All-Star who had to earn his minutes under Rivers in his rookie season. He had shown flashes, but Rivers wasn’t going to hand him anything. He had to grow as a player, especially when it came to finishing at the basket. Now Maxey is among the best players in the game.

“It hasn’t been a surprise,” Rivers said of Maxey’s ascension. “I thought he had a chance to make the All-Star team last year. He’s just a phenomenal kid. He’s got great confidence. He’s a great shooter, and I thought the league had caught in on that at least last year.”

One of the biggest areas of improvement for Maxey is his ability to finish at the basket. As a rookie, he relied a lot on his floater, and Rivers wanted him to get out of that mindset.

“What he’s done consistently, you know, his first year, he struggled finishing,” Rivers explained. “He took a lot of floaters and in each year, he’s kind of figured out where he can — he’s got the Tyrese move now where he gets fouled going to the basket. I don’t think it’s a foul now. Last year, I thought it was a foul. I’m just happy for him because he deserves it.”

As for Reed, he still has some development to go in his young career, but the big man has made serious strides. He has improved his understanding of the game on either end of the floor and he has improved as a 3-point shooter. He has improved year by year.

“The raw stuff was there,” Rivers said of Reed. “Being a good rebounder, being a hustle player, that’ll never go away. I think where my guess is they’re trying to develop is all the little things. Seeing the game better and stuff and that takes time. It takes repetition and I think there’s been progress there.”

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Maxey and Reed are, obviously, better players now than they were in the 2020-21 season, but they wouldn’t have been able to make those strides without the guidance of Rivers. It’s obvious that he had an impact on their young careers.

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Sixers beginning to encourage Paul Reed to take open 3-pointers

The Philadelphia 76ers are beginning to encourage Paul Reed to take more open 3-pointers.

NEW YORK — At the beginning of the 2023-24 season, the Philadelphia 76ers might not have liked it when Paul Reed took an open 3-pointer. There was a reason defenses were leaving him open when he had the ball on the perimeter.

However, with the constant hard work he has put in, he has begun to knock them down with a bit more efficiency.

After going 2-for-2 from deep in Philadelphia’s 79-73 win over the New York Knicks on Sunday, Reed has now made eight of his last 12 attempts from deep dating back to Feb. 14. Coach Nick Nurse is beginning to give Reed some leeway on those shots when considering how much he works on them.

“A little bit,” Nurse said with a smile. “He obviously works on it and even the last one he hit, that’s where we put him in the play. We’re trying to move the pieces to where something can happen.”

On the flip side, Nurse and the Sixers are not yet ready to say Reed is this knockdown shooter from deep, but they acknowledge the work he has put in and are hoping that it continues. Opposing defenses are still sagging off him so why not let it fly?

“It’s not like we’re saying, ‘Hey, Paul, this is 3’s for you.’ But when they rotate and do the things they do, at least you have somebody to kick it out to,” Nurse finished. “That was a big shot. Pretty lucky shot (he said jokingly while smiling).”

Reed and the Sixers will look to continue to grow this facet of his game when Philadelphia takes on the Knicks again on Tuesday.

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