NBA Hoops

What should the Sixers do at backup center?

Paul Reed puts up big double-double in Sixers' first Summer League game: Likes and dislikes

Paul Reed and Charles Bassey; photo by Austin Krell/The Painted Lines

For the first time in the Joel Embiid era, there’s reason to be more than indifferent about the Sixers’ options behind the star big man. It’s not that they have a proven commodity to relieve Embiid — such a player typically signs a lucrative deal to become a starter somewhere. Rather, they have different shapes and sizes behind him.

Here’s a look at what they can do.

Slightly under-sized, but proven to be adequate

Paul Reed heads into his third season as the ostensible favorite to win the job. Though, his warts are notable. When he does get the ball without being spoon-fed lobs, Reed tries to do too much and loses control too often, tossing up shots that have no chance of going in or committing turnovers. And when he isn’t doing that, Reed is struggling to pick the right spots to be physically aggressive, racking up fouls in a hurry. 

But, those issues might resolve themselves with adequate opportunity. After all, it’s human nature to try to do too much when given opportunities that were previously non-existent. But, Doc Rivers extended Reed’s leash when he told reporters that he didn’t care if the young big man committed fouls during last season’s playoffs. He just wanted Reed to play freely. 

And maybe those words relaxed Reed, because he was perfectly adequate. The Sixers were outscored by just 4 points with Reed on the court in the 2022 playoffs. That’s the best plus/minus figure of any backup big man to register at least 10 playoff games with the Sixers during the Embiid era. In fact, ‘perfectly adequate’ might not do it justice — he was historically adequate.

What Reed lacks in size at 6-foot-9, he makes up for in athleticism and strength. Reed has the physical tools to be a vertical spacer. He’s capable of sneaking behind lifted defenders to catch lobs for dunks. If he’s instead tasked with creating a shot within a few steps of the basket, he has the burst and upper body strength to get around matchups for finishes or muscle pockets of space at the basket out of nothing. 

He simply has to learn to defend without fouling if he’s going to stay in the rotation. But, that’s more about staying disciplined. Reed has to keep his arms high and be in the right positions on time. When he does those things and learns to defend with size instead of contact, the foul numbers will drop.

Reed also has the fan equity on his side….

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