Paul Reed says 76ers wanted Knicks instead of Celtics: 'That's the easier team'
With the Knicks being one of the grittiest, hard-working, relentless teams in the NBA, they probably don't need any extra motivation heading into their Eastern Conference Quarterfinals matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers.
But Sixers big man Paul Reed just gave them some.
"We ain't ducking no smoke, but yeah, we wanted the Knicks matchup -- of course," Reed said during an appearance on Run It Back. "That's the easier team, I guess.
"It's gonna be fun. We match up pretty well with them. They got a great guard, we got a great guard. We also got Joel (Embiid), the MVP. ... He's one of the most unstoppable guys in the league right now."
Had the Sixers lost Wednesday night's Play-In game against the Heat, they would've had to face the Chicago Bulls in another Play-In game, with the winner of that series moving on to face the Boston Celtics in the first round.
Two things can be true here.
First, I think any player or evaluator would view the Celtics as a better team than the Knicks -- and probably as better than any other team in the Eastern Conference. Boston went 64-18 this season for a reason, and are up there with the Denver Nuggets as perhaps the two likeliest teams to win it all.
Second, it probably would've been better for the Sixers if Reed ducked that question instead of answering it.
Instead of taking their foot off the gas and winding up as the No. 3 seed (which would've meant a matchup with the No. 6 seed Indiana Pacers), the Knicks went full throttle toward a matchup with Philly.
After beating the Chicago Bulls in Game 82, the Knicks explained their approach -- and contrasted it against what other teams were doing.
"The object is to win, so you put everything you have into winning. That’s the bottom line," head coach Tom Thibodeau said. "We don’t care what they’re doing,"
Donte DiVincenzo added. "We’re focused on our locker room. Whatever they decide to do, that’s their team, their organization’s decision. Our decision was to play. Everybody played and we won the game."
