Tag: Paul Reed

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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Paul Reed expresses frustration after Sixers fall short to Pelicans

Paul Reed expresses some frustration after the Philadelphia 76ers fell to the New Orleans Pelicans at home.

PHILADELPHIA —  The Philadelphia 76ers had a tough night on Friday as they fell to the New Orleans Pelicans 103-95. They fell behind by as many as 35 and trailed 36-15 after the first quarter. It was a tough night all around for everybody.

Paul Reed, who hopped off the bench and had 17 points and 11 rebounds, was a key factor in Philadelphia getting back into things in the second half. Reed and the Sixers cut the deficit down to a mere six points with 1:24 remaining, but the Pelicans got the job done late.

After the loss, Reed was asked what the keys are to bottling up the second-half effort and carrying it with them forward.

“Just knowing that, you know, the referees are gonna be the referees and we’re gonna have to beat them too, you know?” said Reed. “So we got to already be expecting that.”

Now, the officiating wasn’t the reason why the Sixers got down by 35. Philadelphia’s offensive execution was poor and it couldn’t knock down any open looks in the early going.

However, there was one critical call in the fourth quarter that went the way of New Orleans when it appeared that Herb Jones stepped out of bounds before he threw it off Cam Payne who was already out of bounds. That would have given the Sixers a better chance at rallying in this one.

With that being said, Philadelphia has to start the game much better than it did in this one. The key is to make sure the Sixers start better and not wait until halftime to get going.

“I mean, as a player, you can only control what you can control,” Reed added. “As a player, you can’t really dictate what the whole team does. None of us are in that position except the head coach. For us, we just got to follow his lead and try to execute the game plan to the best of our capabilities and so we had a slow start. I’m pretty sure everybody was trying to execute. I mean, it’s not a bad team. Guys out there are good. It’s tough when we start slow like that.”

The Sixers will begin a 3-game road trip when they take on the New York Knicks on Sunday.

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Paul Reed upset with himself, Sixers going small in loss to Grizzlies

Paul Reed is upset with himself as well as the Philadelphia 76ers going small in their loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers have had to get creative with lineups ever since Joel Embiid went down with his meniscus injury in late January. Coach Nick Nurse has played a lot of different lineups and has given a lot of guys different looks.

Paul Reed has received the majority of the starts with Embiid out. Mo Bamba has recently gotten a look as a starter against teams with bigger players due to his size and Nurse has looked at smaller options such as Nic Batum and KJ Martin playing some small ball 5 off the bench.

In Wednesday’s 115-109 loss to the Grizzlies, the Sixers had a tough time keeping Memphis off the boards in the fourth. Philadelphia was out-rebounded 19-12 in the final frame with Memphis coming up with 11 second-chance points.

Reed, who had 17 points and 11 rebounds on the night, played 6:27 in the fourth. He, like the rest of the Sixers, played well in the first three quarters before things fell apart and he fouled out with 3:00 remaining. Philadelphia turned to Martin before he fouled out as well.

Reed knows he contributed to the Sixers losing the contest as he had issues not fouling Jaren Jackson Jr., but the smaller lineups are not his favorite.

“I mean, besides me fouling out?” Reed told Sixers Wire about what went wrong in the fourth. “I feel like we gave up a lot of offensive rebounds for sure. I’m not the biggest fan of going with the small lineup. I feel like we give up rim protection. We give up rebounding. I feel like the defense is more important than the offense.”

Reed isn’t necessarily wrong. Batum and Martin are not going to block a bunch of shots and Reed had two blocks in the fourth. Bamba is also a proven shot blocker and rebounder.

“From what I can see, from my perspective, when the two rim protectors are out the game, that’s when teams go on their runs,” Reed added. “I feel like we need that rim protection and we need that extra length that helps rebounding. That’s essential, you know?”

Again, Reed brings up good points. Batum and Martin are not exactly going to break rebounding records, but they are both smart players who can play the 5 in a pinch. At the moment, the Sixers are in a pinch without Embiid and they have to be creative in order to remain successful. Batum and Martin have been helpful for the Sixers in those lineups.

Nurse has been able to push the right buttons on the floor so Philadelphia can stay afloat. The key at this point is to keep surviving until Embiid can return. Maybe Nurse goes big the next time the Sixers are in this position. Either way, it will be interesting to watch what happens the next time Philadelphia is faced with that situation.

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Paul Reed, Sixers express frustration with 4th quarter in loss to Nets

Paul Reed and the Philadelphia 76ers express their frustration with the 4th quarter after a road loss to the Brooklyn Nets.

NEW YORK — The Philadelphia 76ers had a chance to win on Tuesday against the Brooklyn Nets despite missing Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and other key pieces.

Philadelphia held an eight-point lead in the fourth, but the Nets went on a 13-0 run to take a 95-92 lead and held on for a 112-107 win. Brooklyn scored 16 points in the paint in the fourth; Dorian Finney-Smith had 12 points in the final quarter including two putback buckets.

The Sixers went small for most of the quarter: Nic Batum and KJ Martin handled the minutes down low while Paul Reed played 2:53. The Nets took advantage of the small lineups as Finney-Smith and Nic Claxton made a big impact.

“We didn’t have no bigs in the game to protect the rim and help us out defensively for the whole fourth quarter,” Reed said. “I mean, I think that was kind of one of the key things that kind of hurt us.”

The bigs for the Sixers didn’t have a big game. Neither Reed nor Mo Bamba dominated, but their activity level on the defensive end and on the glass would have been welcomed as the Nets paraded to the basket.

On the flip side, the Sixers weren’t able to get going much on the offensive end. That was a big reason Philadelphia couldn’t close this one in Brooklyn.

“Yeah, I mean it was a combination of our offense wasn’t — they were playing in transition a lot,” coach Nick Nurse said. “We weren’t scoring enough of a little. We got a little stagnant down there as far as continuing to move and cut and things like that. Then we just had to guard the ball a little bit better or help a little bit better on the defensive end.”

The Sixers led by 14 in the second quarter and were in control. Unfortunately, Brooklyn stormed back. While both teams went back and forth with runs, the Sixers missed an opportunity to get a win over a struggling Nets team.

“We have to watch the film together as a group and learn from it, but I do know Nico (Batum) told me after the game they went on a 19-0 run (it was 13-0) I think in the second half,” Kelly Oubre Jr. said. “So you know, we got to stop that. Like that’s not acceptable. Especially, when we’re trying to win and play for a bigger purpose and get better for the next game and then also the next months so you know, it’s something that’s unacceptable from our group. We just had to play defense, one, and take it personal.”

The Sixers take on the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday at home.

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Paul Reed reacts to coming off the bench after Sixers beat Hornets

Paul Reed gives his reaction to coming off the bench for the Philadelphia 76ers after a win over the Charlotte Hornets.

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers made a surprising switch in the starting lineup on Friday, starting Mo Bamba at the 5 and moving Paul Reed to the bench. Reed had started the previous 12 games with Joel Embiid out.

The move paid off. They knocked off the Charlotte Hornets, 121-114. Reed had 11 points, eight rebounds and two blocks off the bench to give Philadelphia a big boost.

The Hornets don’t have much size, so coach Nick Nurse let Reed know ahead of time that they were going to go with Bamba so the move didn’t catch him off guard.

“No, I knew I was coming off the bench,” he said after the win. “They let me know a day ago so I was mentally prepared.”

Nurse explained his reasoning for going to Bamba. The Hornets have a big man, Nick Richards, who offers a lot of size, so Nurse wanted to go in that direction.

“Mo for Paul — I just thought they kind of have one center with size and then they come in and they go pretty small and I just thought that would be a better matchup for us,” Nurse explained. “Really, the plan was to try to invigorate Kelly (Oubre Jr.) off the bench was really what was going to do and I just kind of wanted to see him with that group that maybe could feature him a little bit more, and then he ended up not playing so we were kind of there anyway, but we’ll see probably game to game, how it goes and what it looks like and kind of keep moving things around.”

When a guy gets moved from the starting lineup to the bench, it can be a big motivating factor. Reed wanted to make sure he was in a position to help the Sixers. That is where he’s at mentally.

“I knew I had to go out there and play hard,” Reed finished. “I feel like that’s what the team needed from me. I’m the type of guy who of course, I’m gonna have a chip on my shoulder after they demote me like that, but at the end of the day, I gotta be a supportive teammate, and at the end of the day, it’s about the team. So whatever the team has to do to win, I’m all for it.”

It will be interesting to see who the Sixers start on Sunday when they take on the Dallas Mavericks.

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Sixers’ Paul Reed battling through pressure to fill in for Joel Embiid

Philadelphia 76ers big man Paul Reed is battling through the pressure to fill in for Joel Embiid.

PHILADELPHIA — One doesn’t just replace Joel Embiid. There is no formula for replacing a guy who averages 35.3 points per game. The Philadelphia 76ers don’t have another guy who can simply dominate a game the way Embiid does.

Therefore, one can forgive Paul Reed if he doesn’t put up the same type of numbers.

What Reed does do is bring energy on a nightly basis and continue to be a solid player on a nightly basis. In Friday’s 104-97 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, Reed had eight points and 12 rebounds with three blocks. It was an effort that was much better than in Thursday’s loss to the New York Knicks when he had just two points and five rebounds.

“After just having a bad game, I felt like I had to come out and redeem myself,” Reed said after the win. “I know what type of city we’re in right now. In Philly, they don’t play so I gotta make sure I’m putting on for the team and the coaches and my teammates, you feel me? That was my biggest thing going into tonight. Playing with a ton of energy, going after every loose ball, playing as hard as I can, and let the results be whatever they are.”

With that being said, with the way the city of Philadelphia is and the type of situation the Sixers are in right now, they need Reed to continue to play this way to help Philadelphia stay afloat. Embiid will return soon, but Reed has to continue to rise to the occasion and help the Sixers win basketball games. There is a lot of pressure on his shoulders right now.

“Of course, I feel the pressure, but you know, pressure can either burst pipes or make diamonds,” Reed stated. “I feel like, in my case, it’s always made diamonds out of me, you feel me? I love the pressure. I want it. I want all the smoke.”

The Sixers will continue to rely on Reed and look to pick up wins along the way. His next challenge will be on Sunday when he has to contend with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez down low.

“We’re asking P-Reed to do a lot and fill a void that’s second to none, you know, to the big fella,” added Tyrese Maxey. “So he’s doing what he can. He’s going out there and he’s listening. He’s learning and I’m proud of him.”

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Sixers single out big man Paul Reed after big home win over Cavaliers

The Philadelphia 76ers singled out big man Paul Reed after a big home win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

PHILADELPHIA — Heading into a matchup with the much taller Cleveland Cavaliers without the services of Joel Embiid, the Philadelphia 76ers needed Paul Reed to step up and produce. While taking on bigger guys such as Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, the big man answered the call.

Reed had eight points, 12 rebounds, and three blocks in the win. The Sixers needed his efforts as he grabbed four offensive rebounds and helped Philadelphia to a 51-43 rebounding advantage over the Cavaliers.

“I think that Paul was physical and he was bouncy tonight, you know what I mean?” said coach Nick Nurse. “Like he was reacting fast. You know? Ball bounced to the side, boom, he’d run it out down in the corner or he just was so much more engaged with just the way he was moving. That was huge because they’re hard to guard because of their size and that pick-and-roll game they got. The lob threat, we did a good job. We made them catch it in the pocket a lot and then have to make another move.”

Nurse is right about the Cavaliers. They can go attack a team in any different way from the pick-and-roll game between Darius Garland with Mobley or Allen and the shooters they have now around them. Reed did a terrific job of challenging every action.

“Paul got back to those even though they scored some of those,” Nurse added. “He was making those tougher and they missed a good share of them because he challenged them, and again, I just thought he just played more physical, more athletic tonight.”

Reed played a big role in Philadelphia’s win over the Cavs on Feb. 12 in Cleveland as well. Tyrese Maxey made sure to point that out.

“The last few times we played them, he’s been big time, honestly, and for him to go out there, hold his own, and get blocks and get rebounds,” Maxey started. “I told him, I think around four minutes I said ‘Can you get 13 rebounds?’ He was mad at me because he had 12 and I got the last rebound. He said ‘How’re you gonna ask me to get 13 when you take the rebound?’ I said ‘Man, listen I just had to get the rebound. I didn’t know who was around me’, but he’s been great.”

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Paul Reed opens up on challenges of helping Sixers without Joel Embiid

Paul Reed opens up on the challenges of trying to help the Philadelphia 76ers succeed in the wake of Joel Embiid’s injury.

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers are in the midst of a big challenge. They have to find ways to win without the services of Joel Embiid, who will be out at least a month after undergoing a procedure to repair a meniscus injury in his left knee.

The Sixers are 4-11 in games Embiid doesn’t play. They need solid play out of someone, such as Paul Reed, to stay afloat without the big fella.

As a starter on the season, Reed is averaging 10.5 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.9 steals in 13 such games. He struggled in the losses to the Brooklyn Nets and the Dallas Mavericks due to an illness he has been trying to play through.

“The last couple games I’ve been coming in playing sick, so it’s been a challenge for me going out and playing through that,” Reed said. “I’ve been here before. I know what it takes to win. It takes a great amount of energy from me. I’ve got to come out ready to give out all that energy.”

This has been a challenge not only for Reed, but also for the Sixers. It’s not easy trying to replace what Embiid brings to the table. Philadelphia must rely on Reed to produce more.

“As a team, we’ve got to make sure we stay together, play the right way, and be there for each other,” Reed said. “I feel like that’s gonna be huge. Playing for each other. For me, I gotta go out there and make sure that I’m helping my teammates get better. That’s gonna help me be better.”

It will not be easy winning games without Embiid, but the Sixers are looking forward to the challenge until the reigning league MVP can return.

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