Tag: PJ Tucker

PJ Tucker wants Sixers to be better defensively in Game 2 vs. Nets

PJ Tucker is challenging the Philadelphia 76ers to be better defensively for their Game 2 matchup with the Brooklyn Nets.

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers are up 1-0 in their first round playoff series with the Brooklyn Nets after a 121-101 win in Game 1 on Saturday. The Sixers picked up the win despite shooting 55.7% from the floor and 13-for-29 from deep.

The Nets had a lot of success on the offensive end to start the game as they shot 63.2% from the floor in the first half and they were 6-for-12 from deep, but it was the Sixers who led by nine at halftime. Brooklyn’s Mikal Bridges had 23 points at halftime as he and the Nets were scoring too easily.

“Our defense was (expletive) today (Saturday),” said Tucker. “We gotta get better. We scored the ball pretty easy. We played well on offense. We picked it up the second half. I think that’s what got us to win, but we got to be a lot better.”

Philadelphia was better after halftime. It held Bridges to seven points, and he took only two shots in the second half as the Nets couldn’t find the same rhythm. That is the type of defensive effort Philadelphia has to play with for 48 minutes in order to win in the playoffs.

The Nets were also getting open looks from deep for Seth Curry, Cam Johnson, Joe Harris and others due to them getting downhill and into the paint. When that happens, it is easier to find open shooters.

“I think it was more of they made a lot of the downhill drives. (On) 2-on-2 pick-and-rolls in the middle of the floor, they did a good job of attacking the guys in the pick-and-roll and making shots off that early on,” Tucker added. “I think that was a big deal in the first half. We gotta be more aggressive.”

Regardless, the Sixers were still able to win rather easily despite the defensive struggles. This was one of those performances that make Tucker excited about being with the Sixers for this playoff run.

“We got the best player in the league on our team,” Tucker finished. “So everybody being able to eat off that. We just take whatever they give us. Nobody can guard him one-on-one. So being able to space and be able to attack out of the double teams, being able to read where they’re doubling from and how we can be aggressive going against it.”

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James Harden, Sixers single out PJ Tucker after Game 1 win over Nets

James Harden and the Philadelphia 76ers single out PJ Tucker after their Game 1 win over the Brooklyn Nets.

PHILADELPHIA–The Philadelphia 76ers struck quickly in 2022 free agency to bring in PJ Tucker for moments like this. The veteran forward provided a big boost in a 121-101 Game 1 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday to prove a point.

Tucker had six points, he knocked down two triples, seven rebounds, and five steals in 25 minutes. He made countless other winning plays in order to help Philadelphia secure this win to open their Round 1 series with the Nets.

“That’s what we brought him here for,” James Harden said. “The extra possessions, shot-making in the corners, the defense. That’s the reason why he’s on our team.”

Tucker is a proven player who sacrifices a lot of his game in order to ensure his team comes out on top. Saturday was just another example of that and why he was brought to Philadelphia.

“The playoffs is what it’s all about,” Tucker said afterward. “It’s what the whole season’s for. To get it on and really be able to chase the chip and do all the stuff all year to build up to this point, but the energy, the atmosphere, everything’s different when it’s all the line.”

After winning a championship with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021 and helping the Miami Heat to the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and one win away from the finals in 2022, Tucker is now looking to bring his winning ways to the Sixers during this playoff run.

“Playoff basketball is just about every possession,” added Tobias Harris. “PJ gave us more possessions out there by crashing the glass and just being physical out there, his presence out there defensively as well. Five steals, five offensive rebounds, that’s huge for us and added possessions they add up at the end of the game and that was a huge reason why we got extra looks and good looks as well.”

Guys like Tucker, Jalen McDaniels, De’Anthony Melton, and Paul Reed were a big reason why the Sixers took Game 1.

“I think, obviously our skill guys were great,”said coach Doc Rivers. “James, I thought one of his best games being, I guess, a catcher where he’s calling the perfect game, but I thought our interview guys played a big part in this game. De’Anthony Melton, Jalen, Paul Reed, Tuck about those four guys. They had a huge imprint on why we won.”

This series will continue with Game 2 on Monday.

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Sixers give praise to Paul Reed for his strong play in Game 1 win over Nets

The Philadelphia 76ers give praise to Paul Reed after his big performance in a Game 1 win over the Brooklyn Nets.

PHILADELPHIA–The Philadelphia 76ers began the 2023 playoffs when they played host to the Brooklyn Nets in Game 1 of the first round on Saturday afternoon. They received big games from the guys who have to produce as Joel Embiid, James Harden, and Tobias Harris all scored over 20 points.

However, a big piece of this win was the play of Paul Reed off the bench. The third-year big man out of DePaul delivered 11 points on 5-for-6 shooting and four rebounds in 12:53 off the bench. He was a plus-5 in his minutes and he was a big part of the 121-101 win over the Nets to start this series.

“I cussed Paul Reed out at halftime,” said PJ Tucker who also had a big hand in this win. “I felt like he didn’t have the energy. He wasn’t being there on time and doing a lot of things and he came on in the second half and responded so I told everybody I’ll else curse Paul out every halftime because he got a lot of rebounds. His energy was good. He was in help, he had good switches, finishes. He was just night and day so we need him and I’m always staying on him because we really need him.”

Whatever was said in the halftime locker room, Reed was able to play a big role and the Sixers needed his energy in this one in the second half to put away a pesky Nets team.

“He was great,” added Joel Embiid of Reed. “Him and PJ, extra processions, and then I thought he did a great job screening, rolling, playing out of that dunker, getting easy passes, and finishing. He made a great move behind the back that we probably don’t want to see it again, I’m just kidding. He can do whatever he wants. Whatever works. I guess he got keep doing it, but he was great.”

Speaking of that behind-the-back play Reed made, he explained what happened on a pretty helter-skelter possession.

“My first instinct when I grabbed the ball was to pass it out for a 3, but they jumped the pass so I had to make a move,” Reed said with a smile. “I seen the lane open up. Once I seen the lane open up, I drove the ball, I pump-faked, one dude flew by, and I had a wide-open layup.”

The Sixers will now need Reed to continue to carry this over to the next one as the Sixers prepare for Game 2 with the Nets on Monday.

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Player grades: Joel Embiid leads Sixers over pesky Nets in Game 1

Joel Embiid leads the Philadelphia 76ers over the pesky Brooklyn Nets in Game 1 of this Round 1 playoff series.

PHILADELPHIA–The Philadelphia 76ers began their playoff journey on Saturday afternoon as they played host to the Brooklyn Nets in Game 1 in their first round playoff series. The Sixers enter this postseason with championship hopes as they feel like they have a terrific shot during this run.

The Sixers had some issues defending the Nets early, but they eventually found a rhythm on both ends of the floor as they were able to walk away with a 121-101 win to open the series. It was a wire-to-wire victory as Brooklyn was unable to break through despite really hanging around for the majority of this one.

Joel Embiid led the Sixers with 26 points and five rebounds, James Harden had 23 points and 13 assists, Tobias Harris had 21, and PJ Tucker added six and seven boards. Tyrese Maxey added 13 and six rebounds while Paul Reed had 11 and four rebounds.

Here are the player grades following the win:

Sixers’ PJ Tucker explains how he’s built success in the corner on offense

Philadelphia 76ers veteran PJ Tucker explains how he has built so much success in the corners on the offensive end of the floor.

CAMDEN, N.J.–Philadelphia 76ers veteran PJ Tucker has built a career on being a guy who sacrifices his game for the team to succeed, being tough as nails on defense, and being able to knock down corner 3-pointers as if they are layups.

In his first season with the Sixers, Tucker shot 40% on corner triples which allows James Harden, Joel Embiid, and Tyrese Maxey to do what they do on the offensive end of the floor. For Tucker, the focus was providing space for the offense to succeed and not because he just loves the corner.

“It’s just spacing and playing with really good players,” Tucker said. “They need space. You need make it harder on defenders to be able to help and make them pay. That’s all it is. I don’t love the corner. It’s just where the most space is to give people the opportunity to work and that has just evolved from working on it. Always working on being really good role guy and guys wanna have on their team.”

Tucker’s ability to shoot the ball at a high clip and be able to make big plays on the defensive end makes it easy for coach Doc Rivers to have him play the center spot in the playoffs when the Sixers go small.

“I feel good about it,” Rivers said of the small-ball lineup. “We worked on it a lot this week so I do feel good about it. We cleared some things up with that lineup with our guys and we really didn’t have time to do it all season due to injuries and different guys. So I think if we do show it, I think we’re pretty organized now.”

The issues with Tucker at the 5 have come on the glass due to it being a generally smaller lineup. Rivers is confident that the Sixers have fixed that issue heading into the postseason.

“Well, it depends on who’s out there,” the coach finished. “I think now we have a better sense of who should be in that group. Even though they’re small, we’ve been pretty big.”

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Round 1 Sixers vs. Nets preview: position by position break down

Here is a position-by-position breakdown for the Round 1 series between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Brooklyn Nets.

The Philadelphia 76ers and the Brooklyn Nets will begin their first round playoff series on Saturday with Game 1 from the Wells Fargo Center in South Philly. The Sixers will be looking to get off on the right foot as they prepare for what they expect to be a deep playoff run.

The Sixers are heavy favorites over the Nets in this series and it’s understandable. They are led by a powerful star duo in Joel Embiid and James Harden and they are expected to make quick work of the Nets who have solid players, but no star power.

In this preview edition, it’s time to break down each position and see who has the edge. From the starters down to the bench unit, it’s time to examine and give the advantage to either side.

Nets’ Jacque Vaughn praised by 76ers’ PJ Tucker for coaching job

Philadelphia 76ers forward PJ Tucker shows some love to Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn.

Brooklyn Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn has had one of the tougher coaching jobs in the NBA throughout this season. He started this campaign as the assistant coach to Steve Nash, but became the interim head coach after Nash was fired on Nov. 1 following a 2-5 start.

Since Vaughn took over for Nash, the Nets are 43-32 (57.3%) and that record includes a span in which Brooklyn went on a 12-game winning streak from the end of November to the beginning of January. Everything changed for the franchise on Jan. 8 when Kevin Durant sprained his right MCL in a 102-101 win over the Miami Heat.

After a loss to the Boston Celtics on Mar. 3, Kyrie Irving requested the trade the following day and things went crazy from there. Once Irving was traded to the Dallas Mavericks, Durant requested a trade of his own and was subsequently traded to the Phoenix Suns. All of these changes would have crippled most teams because of the amount of star power leaving the organization.

However, Vaughn found a way to coach Brooklyn to the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs and are set to face the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 1 on Saturday. 76ers forward PJ Tucker has seen what Vaughn has had to overcome and he had this to say to reporters after practice on Wednesday:

“I think he’s done great. He’s had to take over that situation and lose the best player in the league or one of the best players in the league. I think it’s pretty amazing they’re still a really, really solid team. They still won a lot of games. Even after the trade, all those guys stepped up, and play well together. It’s hard to say they’re better, but as a team, everybody’s been involved, everybody’s playing and being successful. I think they did a really good job.”

Ky Carlin of Sixers Wire contributed to this story.

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PJ Tucker impressed with how James Harden has evolved for Sixers

PJ Tucker is impressed with how James Harden has evolved for the Philadelphia 76ers out on the floor.

CAMDEN, N.J. — Philadelphia 76ers star James Harden is one of the top players the game has seen. He is an obvious Hall of Famer whenever he hangs up his sneakers due to everything he has accomplished in his career.

However, Harden is not the same ruthless scorer he was while with the Houston Rockets. He led the league in scoring three times while with the Rockets because he was the man. With the Sixers, Harden is a complementary piece to Joel Embiid as the Sixers look to take the next step.

In the 2022-23 season, Harden averaged 21 points, a league-leading 10.7 assists and 6.1 rebounds while shooting a career-high 38.5% from deep. This is the second time he’s led the league in assists in his career. He continues to change his game, and PJ Tucker, who played with Harden while with the Rockets, is impressed with The Beard.

“I think his game has just evolved, period,” said Tucker. “To be able to be scoring champ and assist champ multiple times is kind of crazy. How many players can actually do that? To evolve to be more of a playmaker now to get everybody involved, to see a game, I think he has one of the hardest jobs because he’s so used to having the ball so much and playing with Jo. Trying to figure that out every night is crazy and seeing him evolve all year is pretty amazing.”

When Harden was in Houston, he averaged 7.7 assists so even though he was scoring a ton of points, he was still making plays for others and keeping teammates involved.

The only thing is, he was putting up ridiculous scoring numbers that the playmaking aspect of his game was almost ignored.

“Nobody talks about that when you’re getting 60-point triple-doubles and kinda sort of wild, wild stuff that he was doing,” Tucker added. “I think he’s always been a really, really good playmaker just from having the ball so much and taking on defenses and how they play him.”

As the Sixers begin their championship chase in the first round of the playoffs against the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday, they need Harden to be at his best.

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Sixers’ Jalen McDaniels discusses expectation for 1st playoff appearance

Philadelphia 76ers forward Jalen McDaniels discusses his expectation for his first playoff appearance.

CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers pulled off their big move at the deadline in February when they acquired Jalen McDaniels from the Charlotte Hornets in a four-team deal that sent Matisse Thybulle to the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Sixers are hoping McDaniels can bring his talents at both ends of the court to the playoffs. However, this will be the first time McDaniels has been in the playoffs.

“Just expecting hard play,” McDaniels said ahead of his first playoff run. “A playing hard atmosphere, crowd’s gonna be crazy, a lot of energy, just competitiveness at the highest level so I’m excited for it. This is my first playoffs.”

McDaniels was a part of the play-in tournament twice while a member of the Hornets. He had five points in 16 minutes in the 2021 loss to the Indiana Pacers. He had seven points in 26 minutes in the 2022 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

“The play-in is just like kill or be killed,” McDaniels recalled about the play-in tournament. “It’s the last game so I got a little taste of it, I guess you could say, of what the atmosphere is like. Not like in a real series. This is my first one, so I’m excited.”

In 24 games with Philadelphia after the trade, McDaniels averaged 6.7 points and 3.2 rebounds while shooting 48.8% from the floor and 40% from deep. Considering he has been able to transition to the Sixers rather quickly, he isn’t worried about transitioning his game to a postseason setting.

“I just know my game is translatable wherever I play,” he said. “Just being a versatile player. I never think about that. When I get on the court, I just gotta be myself.”

PJ Tucker, who has been in plenty of playoff runs in his career, had some advice for McDaniels on how to handle the postseason.

“Just embrace it,” Tucker explained of McDaniels. “Embrace every round and embrace every moment. Don’t take any of it for granted because you can have a streak and go a long time without going to the playoffs or having a chance to go to it so it’s an opportunity. It’s a blessing and take full advantage.”

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PJ Tucker has a message for Sixers ahead of playoff series with Nets

PJ Tucker has a message for the Philadelphia 76ers as they prepare for the playoffs and a series with the Brooklyn Nets.

CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers returned to work on Wednesday afternoon as they continue preparing for the Brooklyn Nets and the first-round playoff series that begins Saturday afternoon.

The Sixers hope they will be competing for a championship in early June. They have the talent to get it done. They are led by Joel Embiid, James Harden, Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris, and the supporting cast understands their roles.

PJ Tucker was brought to Philadelphia to give the Sixers the edge and the toughness they need for the postseason. As the preparation continues for the Nets, the 2021 NBA champion had a message for the team.

“Just watching the play-in games,” Tucker started. “Just locking in on the little things. Taking the ball out of bounds, little sloppy turnovers.”

In Tuesday’s play-in games, there was sloppiness in both that led to mistakes that cost the Miami Heat and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Tucker doesn’t want the Sixers to commit those mistakes.

“I think for us, when we’re aggressive on defense, we’re a different team on offense, and then you translate into a lot of transition baskets and getting easier ones and then we’re unstoppable because then you got to deal with Jo in the half-court,” Tucker added. “So our alertness in how they guard us and us being efficient in how we attack it.”

As Tucker turned his attention to the Nets, this isn’t the same team that took the floor on opening night in October. But Brooklyn is still a dangerous team when it gets into a groove on the offensive end.

“Just because anybody on their team can go for 20,” Tucker said. “The way they move the ball, they share the ball, they get a lot of 3s up, and they don’t care. Player to player, down the line, they move the ball, they give it to the next guy, and it’s hard to guard when everybody’s aggressive and ready to score.”

The Sixers have to respect their opponent. On paper, the Sixers should win this series in no more than five games. But the Nets have done a terrific job of recovering and succeeding despite trading away Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.

A lot of that is due to coach Jacque Vaughn keeping the team together.

“I think he’s done great,” Tucker said of Vaughn. “He’s had to take over that situation and lose the best player in the league or one of the best players in the league. I think it’s pretty amazing they’re still a really, really solid team. They still won a lot of games. Even after the trade, all those guys stepped up, and play well together. It’s hard to say they’re better, but as a team, everybody’s been involved, everybody’s playing and being successful. I think they did a really good job.”

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