Drafted in 2020 (58th position), Paul Reed has long struggled to establish itself as obvious in the eyes of Doc Rivers, despite coming into play and often interesting passages in relay (or in the absence) of Joel Embiid.
But this season, the 23-year-old interior has (finally) been able to secure a prominent place in the rotation of the league’s top scorer, despite competition from Montrezl Harrell or now Dewayne Dedmon. bodes well for the Sixers approaching the playoffs, when they have been constantly looking for a solid alternative to their “franchise player” in recent years.
If Paul Reed’s stats are certainly not the most flamboyant (3.9 points and 3.6 rebounds in 11 minutes), his contribution is generally positive for Philadelphia. It must be said that his energy and his activity do a lot of good for the Doc Rivers team, like his performance against Toronto: 11 points and 6 rebounds in 14 minutes.
Progress that lives up to his confidence
Judge ” phenomenal » by his coach thanks to his ability to roll towards the circle after a screen, the one who is nicknamed « BBall Paul » gradually gains the confidence of the entire Sixers group.
” Paul is great », judged for example James Harden, one of its preferred pick-and-roll partners. ” He listens, he plays hard, he gives us that spark we need, extra possessions. Offensively, I try to make his job easier for him, by going to the basket so that his defender surrenders. He missed some good opportunities, but we give him the confidence to keep going. He is good for our team. »
” He plays hard added Joel Embiid. ” I think his confidence is really high right now. He knows what we ask of him on both sides: play hard, grab offensive rebounds, set up screens, make himself available by rolling to the circle, defend in all positions, be as aggressive as possible. »
The progress made by Paul Reed since the start of the season is obvious and, at this rate, we can think that he will be empowered in the playoffs, when he seems to know his role perfectly in Philadelphia today.
” What Paul has to do every night is ride. Roll quickly towards the circle. That’s what we teach him every day and we work on it every day. He is not big and tall, but fast. So if it rolls slowly towards the circle, it won’t be worth anything. On the other hand, if he does it quickly, it will give us an advantage and he is doing it better and better. rejoiced Doc Rivers.
