Paul Reed Earns Praise From Doc Rivers vs. Phoenix Suns

76ers young veteran Paul Reed received credit for his performance against the Phoenix Suns.

The backup center position remains a question mark for the Philadelphia 76ers. Not because the Sixers lack talent behind Joel Embiid but because Doc Rivers hasn’t quite found a reason to believe that the job is for one guy.

Sometimes, Rivers utilizes the former Sixth Man of the Year Montrezl Harrell to take up minutes behind Embiid. Other times, Rivers might go with the third-year veteran Paul Reed. And on certain occasions, both players might get some burn, depending on the situation.

On Monday night, Rivers didn’t go with a revolving backup center. Instead, he relied on one guy. Usually, Harrell’s the player that will take up all of the backup minutes if there isn’t a rotation, but Paul Reed garnered the opportunity to do so against the Phoenix Suns on Monday.

“It was just gonna be a defensive night,” Rivers said. “You knew it from the start. Phoenix is a defensive team, and we have to put defense back on the floor.”

Rivers tends to go with Reed when the Sixers are focusing more on defense. As the young veteran is a strong physical presence, the Sixers wanted to see Reed use his physicality in situations against Phoenix’s star big man, Deandre Ayton.

“I’ve been in the weight room a lot recently,” said Reed. “So, I feel like I was able to take his hits, and I think that’s what helped me a lot.”

Reed picked up 11 minutes of playing time on Monday. He collected four rebounds, one steal, and two points when the big man Joel Embiid was off the floor. 

“I knew exactly that was gonna be my role. Come in, give our team a lift on the defensive end, help us get some stops, help us get some transition buckets, and be a great screen-setter today,” Reed continued. “You know, I understand my role for this team.”

Admittedly, the third-year veteran didn’t have any idea he was going to play against the Suns. When Embiid’s been available this year, Reed appeared in just four of six games, averaging fewer than five minutes on the court. Always staying ready, Reed was prepared for the challenge when his number was called unexpectedly on Monday night.

“I’m just staying ready,” said Reed. “Trying to be a great teammate.”

In Rivers’ eyes, Reed had a successful night.

“I thought he was spectacular,” Rivers finished. “I thought he guarded Ayton alright, too. They tried to go to Ayton. One thing I told him was, you have six fouls, and you’re not gonna play 40 minutes. So, use them. I thought early on the refs kind of set the tone of the game, and I thought it was gonna be a very physical game, and I thought it probably helped both teams, and that’s why it was a slug-fest.” 

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