76ers' Montrezl Harrell Reflects After Strong Showing vs. Pacers
Without Joel Embiid in the lineup on Wednesday night, the Philadelphia 76ers started small with PJ Tucker at the center position. When the veteran forward came off the floor, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers rolled with Montrezl Harrell as he typically would.
This season, Harrell’s play off the bench has been inconsistent. While there have been times when Harrell’s offered Philadelphia solid offensive production in limited minutes, he’s also struggled to have an impact in some cases.
Wednesday’s performance against the Indiana Pacers certainly was not one of those nights. You could tell early on in Wednesday’s matchup that the former Sixth Man of the Year had it going. In his first four minutes on the floor, Harrell made all three of his field goal attempts, producing six points in the first quarter.
When the second quarter rolled around, Harrell played for another five minutes. Once again, he was perfect from the field. By the end of the first half, Harrell was 5-5 from the field, scoring 12 points in less than ten minutes.
In the second half, Doc Rivers had no choice but to utilize Harrell for 13 minutes and include the veteran big man in the lineup over Tucker during the team’s one and only overtime period for the night.
After Wednesday’s game, which resulted in a Sixers win, Harrell reflected on a rocky start to the season, which featured struggles and an inconsistent role.
“I’m blessed, man,” Harrell said on Wednesday. “I’m still here playing this game of basketball. I had a lot of stuff transpire, especially in the beginning of the season. So just to be able to be out here and play this game and still be able to call it my job is a blessing. I don't take any day for granted. It's a lot of ups, a lot of downs throughout the whole season, but I just try to stay ready and kill, make sure I get my work in.”
Harrell finished Wednesday’s game playing a total of 28 minutes. Getting up nine shots from the field, the veteran big man converted on 89 percent of his attempts. He led the Sixers’ bench in scoring with 19 points and also swatted four shots on the defensive end.
On Wednesday night, Harrell’s performance was much needed, as the Sixers were down an All-Star big man in Joel Embiid, who was battling foot soreness. Thanks to Harrell’s contributions, the Sixers managed to snag an overtime victory against a rolling Pacers team, building on Philadelphia’s latest win streak.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.