Philadelphia 76ers: It’s time for Paul Reed to have a regular role

The Philadelphia 76ers snapped a four game losing streak in a blowout win against the Oklahoma City Thunder. There were plenty of positives to take from that game, but one truth was revealed surrounding one of the Sixers’ rookies.

No, it’s not first round pick Tyrese Maxey who had a very impressive game himself, scoring 11 points on perfect shooting and four assists. It was actually the 76ers’ last pick in the draft in big man Paul Reed. Reed’s play solidified the fact he deserves a spot in the rotation for the rest of the regular season.

Reed should be in the Philadelphia 76ers’ rotation for the rest of the regular season.

Against the Thunder, Reed had 10 points, nine rebounds, one assist, one steal, two blocks, and one turnover, while going 5-7 from the floor. Considering he only played 11 minutes, this is a beyond impressive stat line. Below are two highlights from the game.

Solid put back off the miss in transition in the first clip. The next highlight shows Reed playing both ends of the floor and filling the lane well in transition.

The argument against Paul would be this game was against a team with half their roster would probably not make most teams or they have players who would be sitting on the end of the bench. However, those two highlights above show solid skills and above average basketball I.Q.

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On top of that, I’ve already written a plea to head coach Doc Rivers about benching veteran Mike Scott. With Reed’s solid play, it gives Rivers a solid option to defer to over Scott. However, it’s not just this one game.

Reed has had several good games with Philly this season when given minutes. On top of that, he’s won the G-League MVP and Rookie of the Year award. With the Sixers’ G-League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats, Reed averaged 22.3 points, 11.9 rebounds, 2.0 steals, and 1.8 blocks.

Rivers has been on the record stating he doesn’t believe that the rookie big man is ready to play center in the NBA, but it’s clear that Reed is proving the Hall of Fame head coach wrong. With an easy schedule for the rest of the regular season, there’s no harm to see if Reed can compete against NBA big man on a regular basis, especially if MVP candidate Joel Embiid needs time off to rest.

Reed has put a strong resume to earn a spot in the Philadelphia 76ers rotation for the rest of the regular season. Reed deserves to be given Scott’s minutes coming off the bench until the playoffs begin.