76ers vs. Raptors: PJ Tucker Praised for Play vs. Pascal Siakam

Several 76ers praise PJ Tucker for his defense on Raptors star, Pascal Siakam.
76ers vs. Raptors: PJ Tucker Praised for Play vs. Pascal Siakam
76ers vs. Raptors: PJ Tucker Praised for Play vs. Pascal Siakam /

PJ Tucker’s impact on the Philadelphia 76ers has been a constant debate amongst outsiders throughout the entire 2022-2023 NBA season so far. As the veteran has averaged just four points while putting up three shots per game through 29 matchups, many critics have a clouded judgment on what Tucker brings to the table.

However, his teammates have seen a significant impact from Tucker on the defensive end, and that was clear once again on Monday night as the Sixers took on the Toronto Raptors for the third time this year.

Tasked with guarding an All-Star in Pascal Siakam, Tucker had his hands full on Monday. Following the overtime victory over Toronto, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers highlighted the opponent’s standout, crediting him for having a stellar outing.

“You know, Siakam’s a hell of a player,” said Rivers. “But PJ Tucker is a hell of a defender.”

Siakam produced a game-high of 38 points in 47 minutes on Monday night. While he nearly led the Raptors to a comeback victory over the Sixers, who dropped the ball on a 14-point lead, Tucker made life difficult for the All-Star down the stretch.

“This is the NBA, man. Guys are going to take high-volume shots, especially when you’re the man of a team," said Sixers veteran Montrezl Harrell. "Siakam’s still gonna get his good amount of shots, but the thing about it is making it tough and making sure he’s not in a flow and make sure he’s not in a rhythm. Tuck made it tough on him all night, he had to work for every bucket. He had a big night when you look at it in his numbers, but at the same time, you gotta look at how many shots he took, and you gotta look at how hard those buckets was. He had some tough mid-range shots with PJ right there, but like I said, at the end of the night, he had to work to get it.”

Going into the fourth quarter, Siakam had 31 points on the offensive end. By draining two of his four attempts from the field and hitting on three of his four free throws, the Raptors’ standout produced seven more points to help the Raptors nearly achieve a comeback victory before the game went into overtime.

Once the matchup reached the five-minute extra period, Siakam went scoreless from the field, missing all three of his shots as Toronto was outscored 5-2, allowing the Sixers to pick up their fifth-straight win.

“He’s just being aggressive,” Joel Embiid said of Tucker. “He made a bunch of tough shots tonight. Threes, a bunch of post-ups or step-backs. They made a bunch of tough shots tonight. PJ, down the stretch, was aggressive and got giving them any space. It was magical.”

“He was great, that’s why we brought him here,” Georges Niang added. “Doing things like that, he does a pretty good job of making guys uncomfortable and making them play faster than what they wanted. That was huge for us. He’s been tremendous in shutting those bigger wings and four-men down.” 

On paper, Siakam had himself a stellar night as he scored a season-best 38 points, but Tucker’s teammates saw the veteran make every basket, especially down the stretch, tough to get as the Sixers put the Raptors away 104-101. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.


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Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Title: Credentialed writer/reporter covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation Email: JustinGrasso32@Gmail.com Location: Philadelphia, PA Expertise: Reporting, insight, and analysis on the Sixers and the NBA  Justin Grasso is a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation.  Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writer’s Association.  Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoNBA