Philadelphia 76ers: Two Pauls off the bench are better than one

There was a time in the not-too-distant past when the Philadelphia 76ers‘ fanbase was abuzz with the idea of a two Tyrese backcourt.

The idea was simple: Tyrese Maxey is a young, speedy point guard who has elite upside on drives and in transition, but he’s still a work in progress as both a passer and a volume shooter from beyond the arc. Adding a player like Tyrese Haliburton, who has pedigree in both passing and shooting well beyond his years, would give the team two high-upside young guards who could play together, play apart, and just generally make Joel Embiid‘s life a whole lot easier.

Granted, a deal with the Kings ultimately didn’t go down, and Haliburton was shipped to Indiana for Domantas Sabonis in one of the more head-scratching deals of the 2022 NBA trade deadline, but hey, in hindsight, that might be for the best, as the prospects of securing James Harden, even at 32, presents far more upside in the short-term, with the potential to become one of the most hated teams in the NBA if it ultimately works out.

But hey, if you’re still a bit bummed out on not having a dynamic tag team of same-named players, you don’t have to be too down in the doldrums, as the “The Two Pauls,” Millsap and Reed, received their first on-court run together in the Philadelphia 76ers’ loss to the Boston Celtics and frankly, the results were far more encouraging than one might have initially expected.

The Philadelphia 76ers should give The Two Pauls more run.

What is Paul Reed good at? Playing fundamentally sound, athletic frontcourt defense, running the rim, rebounding, and benefiting from some well-placed lobs.

What are Reed’s weaknesses? Well, he doesn’t really take 3s at the NBA level – even though he takes them at a good clip in Delaware – can’t really create his own offense, and is just really inexperienced due to his inconsistent runs with the Philadelphia 76ers.

And what about Paul Millsap? What is he good at? For one, Millsap has become a pretty good 3 point shooter since talking his talents from Atlanta to Denver, shooting 36.6 percent on 568 attempts since 2017. He’s also a smart scorer who can score a little off a dribble, play the boards at both ends of the court, and at 37, has played more games at the NBA level than any other player on the Sixers’ roster.

Granted, despite retaining his defensive abilities well into his 30s, Millsap has certainly lost a step and probably isn’t going to be throwing down any massive dunks off of passes from James Harden or anyone else for that matter, but hey, typically, teams don’t expect to get max-level production out of a player on a veteran minimum contract.

Do you see where I’m going here? If not, I have one word for you: Complimentary.

When Millsap and Reed are on the court together, as they were for five minutes versus the Celtics in the former’s debut, their games fit together perfectly. The duo could switch on defense, switch on offense, and keep the offense infused with a free-flowing energy that’s often lacking when one or more of the team’s ISO scorers are on the court. Whether you call Millsap a power forward and Reed a center or vice versa is really irrelevant; if Millsap can continue to space the floor from 3 even at just his usual 36.6 percent clip and Reed can avoid lapses in judgment like his royally botched dunk attempt versus the OKC Thunder, there might just be a spot for both players in the team’s rotation moving forward, which could be vital since the Sixers have never been particularly deep in the way of forward.

That’s right, with Seth Curry gone and Danny Green hopefully earning a few more minutes at the two guard spot moving toward (more on that here), there could be a few more frontcourt minutes up for grabs than some initially expected a month prior, especially against teams with talented forwards or a supersized frontcourt a la the Orlando Magic or the Cleveland Cavaliers. And hey, even if the Sixers are playing a more traditional opponent, having multiple frontcourt options who can play multiple positions should make Doc Rivers’ life a little easier, as he won’t have to exclusively rely on Georges Niang and Tobias Harris to log all 48 minutes at the power forward spot in any given game. Considering Niang is mostly just an offensive player, and Harris just had one of his worst games in a red, white, and blue uniform, giving “The Two Pauls” more run could present potentially viable combinations moving forward, either coming off the bench or playing alongside Joel Embiid.

With the playoffs rapidly approaching, trying as many lineups as possible has to be a priority over the next 30 something games.

Will the pairing of James Harden and Tyrese Maxey prove to be better than “Tyrese Squared,” or “T2: Judgement Day,” or whatever other fun nickname fans had already settled on? Only time will tell, but in the immediate future, I would assume yes, yes it is. But hey, games aren’t just won via star power alone. If the Philadelphia 76ers are going to rebound from losing two key rotation players, they are going to have to secure similar production from the players they already have under contract, plus whoever they can land via the buyout market and/or free agency. Could either Paul Millsap or Paul Reed ultimately be the guy who fills Andre Drummond’s shoes? Again, we’ll see, but after watching the duo play off of each other like long-time partners in crime a few days after formally meeting, it looks like iron may sharpen iron moving forward. Why? Because Two Pauls are better than one.