Paul Reed Claims Sixers Landed Preferred Matchup With New York Knicks

Paul Reed claims the Philadelphia 76ers wanted to battle the New York Knicks.

Apr 17, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul Reed (44) controls a / Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

On Wednesday night, the Philadelphia 76ers hosted the Miami Heat in the play-in tournament. The winner would be awarded the seventh seed and face off against the New York Knicks in the first round of the postseason.

Things went down to the wire, but the Sixers managed to walk away victorious. Thanks to a strong performance from the supporting cast, they secured a 105-104 win to officially punch their ticket for the playoffs. The most notable performer was Nic Batum, who erupted for 20 points and five rebounds off the bench.

Following this nail-biting win, Paul Reed made an appearance on FanDuel TV’s Run It Back show. During the interview, the backup center took a subtle shot at the Sixers’ upcoming opponent.

Losing Wednesday’s matchup would have meant battling for the eighth seed and facing the Boston Celtics in the first round. Reed stated that the Sixers wanted to win against Miami because they felt the Knicks were the easier matchup.

“We ain’t ducking no smoke,” Reed said. “Yeah we wanted the Knicks matchup of course, that’s the easier team. It’s going to be fun, we match up pretty well with them.”

"We ain't ducking no smoke, but yeah we wanted the #Knicks matchup, that's the easier team..." @Bball_paul on why winning last night's game, and avoiding the #Celtics was so important 👀 pic.twitter.com/okdBDxpp5w

— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) April 18, 2024

Reed logged just ten minutes against the Heat playing behind Joel Embiid. He finished the game with six points and two rebounds on perfect 3-for-3 shooting.

In regards to the season series, the Knicks dominated this matchup. They won three of the four matchups, though some of these games were played without Joel Embiid. These teams had a mini-series at the beginning of March, with each team winning one game.

The player the Sixers will have to focus on the most is Jalen Brunson. He finished the year on a strong note, averaging close to 36 PPG in his final eight games.