Sixers big man Paul Reed discusses moving to power forward in camp
CHARLESTON, S.C.–The Philadelphia 76ers are working on playing with different lineup combinations as they move forward with a new roster. They made plenty of additions in the offseason that are expected to help them take the next step in the Eastern Conference.
One of the additions they made was Montrezl Harrell. He was a late addition shortly before training camp and it is assumed that he will be the backup big man to Joel Embiid.
That position belonged to Paul Reed in the postseason, but with the addition of Harrell, maybe he has to change positions. The now third-year big man is playing power forward so far to begin training camp.
“It feels natural,” said Reed. “It feels a bit different, but defensively, I feel like I’m doing the same types of things I would be doing if I was a 5. I’m still playing the same type of role. I just gotta space the floor a little more and run different sets and run different plays, I gotta do different things, but it’s the same for real.”
The addition of Harrell doesn’t change the fact that Reed will see minutes at the center spot as well. He is just experimenting with the power forward spot right now.
“Paul’s still playing the 5 most of the time, but we’re playing him at the 4 now too,” said coach Doc Rivers.
In terms of what Reed has been able to do, Rivers is excited about the potential of having him in that lineup and unleashing him a bit within the offense and on the glass.
“Paul has done a great job of finding when to roll, where to get to the dunker spot, when, but more importantly for us, it’s more on the glass and things like that where we can get the ball out to that group,” Rivers added. “When we’re running, we’re pretty good.”
The Sixers still have four days left of training camp so this will give Reed and the rest of the team plenty of time to figure everything out and move forward as a team.
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