The sky darkened somewhat above Philadelphia, since the knee of Joel Embiid worries and the vagueness reigns as for his return in these playoffs. Despite everything, his team managed to qualify for the next round by eliminating Brooklyn with a sweep.
A qualification made possible, from Game 4, by the valuable contribution of Paul Reed. Named holder for this meeting, replacing the favorite announced for the title of MVP 2023, he accumulated 10 points and 15 rebounds in 32 minutes, especially snatching 8 offensive rebounds against Nic Claxton’s teammates.
What to give reason to Doc Riverswho had decided to prefer him to Montrezl Harrell and Dewayne Dedmon in a classic five version, or even PJ Tucker in a “small ball” five version.
” He deserved it, he played well », explained the coach of the Sixers. ” We won this series because we dominated inside and that was our state of mind before the game. Paul and [P.J. Tucker] are our two best rebounders, I knew it was going to create a spacing problem, but I wanted to see what it was going to do. »
A half-time to get started
Aggressive in the paint and under the circle, its association with P.J. Tucker therefore brought satisfaction to Doc Rivers, even if it took him half time to get going. Probably because he wanted to do too well for Philly…
” He can be a big X-factor for our team when he’s focused, doing his job, focusing on it, and that’s what he did in the second half. “, rightly judged PJ Tucker, his sidekick in the racket. ” I insulted him a few times in the first half, he may be mad at me, but I don’t care. When he plays like that, hard, and does what he’s supposed to do, he helps the team a lot. »
” He listens and he plays hard, so you gotta give him the credit he deserves “, reacted on his side James Harden, who also preferred the second half of Game 4 to his teammate. ” In the first half, he collected important offensive rebounds and he tried to land difficult shots. But I keep telling him that if he can get a layup, take it, but if he can’t feel it, get the ball out because we can get a better shot. In the second half, he did a better job at this level and that generated more opportunities for our exteriors. »
Well surrounded by his more experienced teammates, who are never the last to face up to his responsibilities, Paul Reed changed his mind after the break, compiling 8 points and 10 rebounds over the period to propel Philadelphia to another victory over the net. All in energy…
” In the first half I forced shots that weren’t really good for the team », recognized the pivot 23, on his complicated start to the match. ” But the guys got on me, they gave me constructive criticism, especially Tobias [Harris] who said to me: ‘We believe in you, we trust you, so get back on the pitch and do what you know how to do’. That’s when, on every offensive rebound, if I couldn’t get an open layup, I got the ball out and that helped us get some good shots. »
This bodes well for the future, as the Sixers may be without Joel Embiid for the start of their conference semifinal against the Celtics/Hawks series winner.
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots made / Shots attempted; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def= defensive rebound; Tot = Total bounces; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost bullets; Ct: Counters; Points = Points.
