Tag: PJ Tucker

Sixers feeling excited that PJ Tucker is on their side now heading into playoffs

The Philadelphia 76ers are happy that PJ Tucker is on their side now heading into the playoffs.

CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers made their big free agency signing in the 2022 offseason rather quickly when they brought in veteran PJ Tucker on a three-year, $33 million deal. The hope was he would give them that edge and that toughness needed to get the job done in the playoffs.

Well, the playoffs are here. The Sixers finished the regular season 54-28 and are the No. 3 seed for the playoffs. They begin their playoff run on Saturday when they play host to the sixth-seeded Brooklyn Nets. So it’s time for Tucker to make his biggest impact.

“Honestly, what he’s been bringing to the team all year,” Tobias Harris said of Tucker. “His toughness, his physicality, his defensive mindset, and approach. So all those things, myself and the whole group is excited for.”

The Sixers had to face Tucker when they took on the Miami Heat in the second round of the 2022 playoffs. The veteran out of Texas averaged 8.2 points and 5.2 rebounds in that series, but the Sixers felt his impact for Miami.

“I remember last year just playing against him,” Tyrese Maxey recalled. “It was particular times in the playoffs where he would get maybe a tap-out rebound and he’ll hit a corner 3. He would have like eight points and five rebounds and it would feel like he had 25 points and 10 rebounds. The impact he was making in every single game we would play against them was huge and now I’m just happy he’s on our team.”

Along with the production in key moments he brings on the court, there are also the intangibles Tucker brings. The Sixers believe they are a tougher group heading into this postseason.

“We’re a tougher team,” said coach Doc Rivers. “I don’t think I’m breaking any news, but we were not a very — we were skilled, but we were not a very physical, tough basketball team. We just were not. I said it before the playoffs, and unfortunately, it was the truth. Not just physically, like I think we’re mentally tougher team. I think there’s a lot to it, but we’re gonna get challenged in the playoffs and we’ll find out.”

Philadelphia will be challenged in the playoffs. That comes with every postseason in this league. Now is the time for Tucker to make his biggest impact and be sure everybody is on the same page.

“There’s gonna be some adversity somewhere,” Rivers added. “It always is when you plan on going where we hope to go and that’s when you know what team you have. You’ll get tested. Facing some tough questions. Somebody may not play as much as he thought and all that will come into play at some point. You will see.”

Either way, the Sixers are happy Tucker is on their side.

“I literally just told him that,” Maxey said of Tucker. “Like ‘I couldn’t stand you last year, now I’m glad you’re with us.’ ”

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Every former Longhorn in the 2023 NBA playoffs

Texas is well-represented in the NBA playoffs.

The University of Texas is well-represented in the 2023 NBA playoffs. Seven former Longhorns are set to participate in postseason play.

The NBA play-in tournament takes place from April 11-14, while the rest of the playoff bracket begins on April 15.

The playoffs consist of four rounds of best-of-seven series. The first round matches the top seed against the eighth seed, the second seed against the seventh seed, the third seed against the sixth seed, and the fourth seed against the fifth seed. The winners of each first-round series advance to the second round, until the two conference champions meet in the NBA Finals.

At least one former Longhorn has played in the NBA finals in 11 out of the last 12 seasons. PJ Tucker most recently earned his first championship as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021.

13-time NBA All-Star Kevin Durant is eyeing his third career NBA title, this time as a member of the Phoenix Suns.

Here is a complete look at all seven former Texas Longhorns gearing up to compete in the NBA playoffs.

Player grades: Joel Embiid, Sixers drop home finale to desperate Heat

Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers drop the home finale to a desperate Miami Heat team.

PHILADELPHIA–The regular season home finale didn’t mean anything for the Philadelphia 76ers. They are officially locked into the No. 3 seed for the playoffs beginning on April 15 and the goal now is to make sure everybody is on the same page for the postseason. The Miami Heat, on the other hand, are still chasing a playoff spot.

It was evident early as the Heat built up a 33-point lead, and while the Sixers worked their way back into it a bit in the third quarter, Miami eventually walked away with a 129-101 victory to keep their hopes for the No. 6 seed alive. Jimmy Butler had 24 points, six assists, and three rebounds to lead the Heat.

Joel Embiid had 21 points and six rebounds for Philadelphia, James Harden had 14 points, four assists, and four rebounds, and Tobias Harris had 11 points and five rebounds, Jalen McDaniels had 10 off the bench while Shake Milton had 11 and nine assists.

Here are the player grades after the loss:

Sixers vs. Heat injury update: Who’s in, who’s out for home finale?

Here are the final injury updates as the Philadelphia 76ers get set to play host to the Miami Heat on Thursday night in the home finale.

The Philadelphia 76ers will take on the Miami Heat on Thursday night for the regular season home finale before finishing up the 2022-23 season on the road in Atlanta and Brooklyn. With the No. 3 seed officially locked up heading into the playoffs, the Sixers will be looking to execute a plan for the final games of the season.

Heading into this matchup, the Sixers listed Tyrese Maxey, De’Anthony Melton, and PJ Tucker as questionable for the matchup. Maxey has neck stiffness while Melton and Tucker are both dealing with right calf tightness in these final games of the season.

For the matchup, Maxey is out while Melton and Tucker are available.

The Sixers can put an end to the No. 6 seed race with a win on Thursday. If they beat the Heat, then the Nets will officially be locked into 6 and it will set up Sixers vs. Nets in Round 1. If the Heat win on Thursday, then Miami can still catch Brooklyn for 6 to potentially set up Sixers vs. Heat in Round 1.

Tipoff from the Wells Fargo Center is set for 7:30 p.m. EDT on TNT.

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Full injury report for Tyrese Maxey, Sixers in home finale vs. Heat

Here is the full injury report for Tyrese Maxey and the Philadelphia 76ers in the regular season home finale with the Miami Heat.

The Philadelphia 76ers will take on the Miami Heat in the regular season home finale on Thursday before hitting the road for the final two games of the season. They look to build momentum for the playoffs and their chase for a championship.

They might be a bit short-handed on Thursday. Three key performers, Tyrese Maxey, De’Anthony Melton and PJ Tucker, are listed as questionable for the Heat game.

Maxey has neck stiffness. Both Melton and Tucker are dealing with right calf tightness.

If the Boston Celtics defeat the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday, Philadelphia will be locked into the No. 3 seed in the East. If that happens, the Sixers may sit these guys to have them better prepared for the postseason.

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James Harden supports PJ Tucker as Sixers prepare for the playoffs

James Harden gives his support to PJ Tucker as the Philadelphia 76ers prepare for the playoffs.

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers escaped with a 103-101 win over the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night thanks to an historic performance from Joel Embiid. The big fella put up 52 points on 20-for-25 shooting with 13 rebounds and six assists.

However, the Sixers probably don’t win without PJ Tucker.

Despite Embiid’s excellence, the Celtics were right there. They were getting contributions from up and down the lineup, showing off their depth and the game was tied with 3:13 left. Then Tucker knocked down three big 3s to lift the Sixers to that win.

It was yet another example of what Tucker brings to the table.

“My only gratification that comes is winning a championship,” Tucker said afterward. “That’s it. These single-season games don’t matter. I don’t chase points. I don’t chase rebounds. I chase wins and making the right plays and doing what the team needs on any night. That’s it.”

James Harden, who played with Tucker on the Houston Rockets, knows the veteran the most. Through 79 games, Tucker has been a bit up and down, but Harden knows he will come through when the time calls for it.

“I know him like the back of my hand,” Harden said. “There’s a lot of frustration as far as where he needs to be on the floor, we’re still trying to work that out, but tonight (Tuesday) was great. You gotta put them in a corner because he’s an unbelievable corner 3-point shooter.”

That’s exactly what the Sixers did on those final shots for him. Coach Doc Rivers gave all the credit to Harden for the decision of having Tucker operate in the corner with the game on the line.

“The guy that made the big shots for us was Tuck,” said Rivers. “That was a great observation by Jams. He said ‘Hey, let’s put Tuck in the corner. Let’s put Tobias (Harris) in the dunker spot.’ and it really came through for us.”

Due to Harden knowing Tucker so well and understanding where he needs to be successful, the suggestion worked for the Sixers on Tuesday.

“I mean, he’s been that way his whole career,” Harden finished. “So tonight, he was in the corner by himself. They double-teamed, Joel passed it to him, he had the confidence to knock the shots down. Hopefully, this game can build his confidence and we can keep it going from there.”

The Sixers have three games left before the playoffs begin on April 15.

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Joel Embiid singles out PJ Tucker as reason for Sixers beating Celtics

Joel Embiid singles out PJ Tucker as the reason why the Philadelphia 76ers knocked off the Boston Celtics on Tuesday at home.

PHILADELPHIA — When one looks at the box score of Tuesday’s 103-101 win for the Philadelphia 76ers over the Boston Celtics, the biggest thing that will pop out is Joel Embiid dominating to the tune of 52 points on 20-for-25 shooting. The big fella was phenomenal.

However, PJ Tucker made the three biggest shots of the game when the Sixers needed them the most.

Philadelphia couldn’t get anything going other than Embiid. It needed somebody to help the MVP candidate on Tuesday. With the game tied at 89, Tucker stepped up and made the biggest shots of the night.

He made a corner 3 off a pass from Embiid to give the Sixers a 92-89 lead with 2:53 left. Embiid found Tucker in the corner again for another triple at the 2:03 mark to put the Sixers up 95-89. When the Celtics doubled Embiid again, he found Tucker yet again for another 3 to put the Sixers up, 101-95, with 53.3 seconds left.

“I’m just happy,” said Embiid. “We wouldn’t have won that game without him. Three big shots and we really got that win because of him.”

Before those three triples, Tucker had two points and he looked a bit hesitant on the offensive end, which has been a theme all season. However, he was tough on the defensive end, and he gave the Sixers an edge on the floor despite not scoring much.

“PJ has been great the whole season,” Embiid added. “Obviously, he’s not gonna score a lot of points, if any, but just his presence on the floor. The little stuff that he does. Offensive rebounding, guarding the other team’s best player, just his activity, his communication, you can’t judge players off of scoring.”

In a league so predicated on scoring, what Tucker does can go unnoticed a lot of times. Embiid wants everybody to know what he brings to the table.

“In this league, people don’t care about defense anymore,” Embiid finished. “It’s all about offense. How many points you scored, but offense is not all that matters. There’s both ends. There’s two ends on a basketball floor and I think he’s been huge. Even offensively, doing the little things, like I said, offensive rebounding, setting screens, giving himself up for the team. So I think he’s been great.”

Nonetheless, this was just another example of what Tucker brings to the Sixers in big games. He is going to be so important to what Philadelphia wants to do in the playoffs.

“Yeah, he’s been in big moments,” added coach Doc Rivers. “He’s gonna shoot it. They were going to help off of him, we said that in the time out, and he stepped up and made them.”

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Multiple Sixers declare MVP race over after Joel Embiid destroys Celtics

The Philadelphia 76ers say the MVP race is over after Joel Embiid destroys the Boston Celtics in a home win on Tuesday.

PHILADELPHIA–The Philadelphia 76ers had nothing going for them all night. They couldn’t find a rhythm as they were looking to finally get a win over the Boston Celtics who have tormented them all season.

Joel Embiid came to the rescue as he threw the team on his back. The big fella shot an efficient 20-for-25 to score 52 points with 13 rebounds and six assists in a 103-101 win over the Celtics. The rest of the Sixers combined to shoot 19-for-53 on the night so they needed Embiid to throw them on his back and carry them to a much-needed win at home.

With the MVP race being so tight and being what it is, the Sixers had a message for voters after one helluva performance.

Player grades: Joel Embiid dominates to lead Sixers past Celtics at home

Joel Embiid has a big night as the Philadelphia 76ers were able to pick up an important win over the Boston Celtics at home.

PHILADELPHIA–The Philadelphia 76ers returned home on Tuesday looking to keep their slim hopes alive for the No. 2 seed in the East as they played host to the Boston Celtics. The Sixers entered the night trailing Boston by three games for the No. 2 seed with four games remaining so this one was a must-win game.

Philadelphia used a steady dose of Joel Embiid all night long to deter anything the Celtics could throw at them as they were able to come away with a 103-101 victory as Jayson Tatum missed at the buzzer. It was an important win not only in the standings, but for their psyche as Boston had won the previous three matchups.

Embiid had 52 points on a ridiculous 20-for-25 shooting and 13 rebounds with six assists for Philadelphia, James Harden had 20 points, 11 assists, and five rebounds, and PJ Tucker had 11 points with nine of those coming late in the fourth. Jalen McDaniels had eight points while Tobias Harris added five points and six rebounds.

Here are the player grades after the win:

Player grades: Giannis Antetokounmpo leads red-hot Bucks over Sixers

Giannis Antetokounmpo leads the red-hot Milwaukee Bucks over the Philadelphia 76ers at home.

MILWAUKEE–The Philadelphia 76ers paid a visit to the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday night looking to keep the winning streak going. They had won two in a row at home and they were looking to keep that rolling when they paid a visit to the Fiserv Forum.

The Bucks had other plans as they made 10 of their first 11 shots and shot a red-hot 69.6% from the floor in the first quarter on their way to an 18-point lead in the game’s opening frame. The Sixers found a way to climb back into it, but their rally wasn’t enough as Milwaukee walked away with a 117-104 victory. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 33 points, 14 rebounds, and six assists for the Bucks.

The Sixers were led by Tyrese Maxey with 29 points, Joel Embiid had 28 points, nine rebounds, and five assists and James Harden added 11 points and six assists. Paul Reed had eight and eight rebounds and Danuel House Jr. added eight off the bench.

Here are the player grades following the loss: