With a long season ahead of him, Sixers veteran P.J. Tucker is aiming for early-season balance

With the hood of his blue warmup jacket pulled over his head, P.J. Tucker spent much of his second-half break during Saturday’s victory over the Atlanta Hawks on a stationary bike and, later, bending his knees with his legs wrapped in resistance bands.

The 37-year-old forward still is working his way back physically after offseason arthroscopic knee surgery and, more recently, a bruised hip with which he continues to play. That has created a two-pronged early-season mentality for Tucker, who was expected to immediately inject defense, toughness, and leadership into a 76ers team off to an uneven 6-7 start. He has an urgency to catch up after being forced off the court while recovering this summer, while understanding the steady ramp-up required during an 82-game regular season.

“The progression of the season is kind of double-time this year, honestly, for me personally,” Tucker told The Inquirer in Atlanta earlier this week. “… It sounds kind of crazy and odd, but you’ve got to be able to do both. It’s like, ‘Yeah, let’s get going now. You need to win now.’ But it’s OK. There’s 82 [games]. It’s a balance.

“It’s more of a natural thing, because nobody’s ready for the playoffs right now. It’s impossible. You haven’t played enough games. The team hasn’t figured everything out. Even teams that have been together, it’s still a progression of the season to be able to get ready and get to that point. And it’s the buildup. It really is. It’s a buildup.”

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Tucker was the Sixers’ top free-agency target — so blatantly that an NBA tampering investigation determined conversations between the parties occurred before they were allowed. Tucker is averaging 5.2 points on 57.4% shooting (45.8% from three-point range) and 4.6 rebounds in the season’s first 13 games. He made his only shot attempt in Saturday’s 121-109 win over the Hawks, a short, corner floater in the second quarter, and totaled six rebounds and two assists.

Tucker acknowledged that because of his knee procedure, training camp was his first time going through full-contact basketball since playing in the Eastern Conference finals with the Miami Heat. Though he no longer feels pain, Tucker said he still lacks his usual power and explosion to slide and jump quickly. He has focused on exercises that strengthen the muscles around the knee, such as the quadriceps and calf, because “it’s all connected.”

“Stuff you don’t think about,” Tucker said. “… You don’t realize it until you get hurt.”

Added coach Doc Rivers: “We all know when you start out behind the eight ball in conditioning in this league, it takes a minute. You can see that in some of his play, but he’s getting better day by day.”

Modest statistics have never encapsulated Tucker’s impact. Consider that he averaged only 2.6 points in 20 games with the Milwaukee Bucks following the 2021 trade deadline but was regarded as the missing component of a team that won that season’s NBA championship.

All-NBA center Joel Embiid said Tucker is most effective as a communicator and in moving without the ball. Tobias Harris lauded Tucker’s defensive versatility to switch and contain guards or match up against bigger post players for a unit that, after a horrendous start, entered Sunday ranked ninth in the league in efficiency (110 points allowed per 100 possessions).

“[He] plays his tail off and plays super hard every single night,” Harris said of Tucker. “Defensively, he’s everywhere for us.”

Although the Sixers are the fourth team Tucker has played for in the last three seasons, he also still requires an adjustment period.

Some terminology is different, leading to early defensive miscommunication. This also is the first time Tucker has played alongside a more traditionally dominant big man such as Embiid, whom teammates constantly feed at the elbows and other spots near the basket. Though Tucker still often finds himself in the corners on offensive possessions — much like when he was playing off a rim-runner such as Clint Capela or playing as a “microball” center with the Houston Rockets — Tucker said the spacing around Embiid requires more of a read-and-react approach.

“And it’s on the go, because it’s different every time,” Tucker said. “You’ve kind of got to figure it out every single time, but it’s something I’ve been learning and getting better at.”

Tucker found himself in an unfamiliar position last week: off the floor during crunch time of three consecutive games.

In a Nov. 4 home loss to the New York Knicks, Rivers opted to go with a lineup with big men Paul Reed and Montrezl Harrell that largely backfired as the Sixers’ double-digit lead slipped away. In an impressive Monday victory over the Phoenix Suns, reserve forward Georges Niang stayed in while draining a career-best seven out of nine three-pointers. Then about halfway through the fourth quarter of Thursday’s loss in Atlanta, Tucker took himself off the floor and immediately drew the attention of head athletic trainer Kevin Johnson because of a flare-up of the hip injury he said occurred while diving for a loose ball against the Suns.

“You’re not used to it,” Tucker said of not playing down the stretch of games. “… But whatever to get the win.”

Tucker said his immediate priority is to continue learning his new teammates and where he best fits with a Sixers team still searching for consistency. Against the Suns, for instance, he highlighted much clearer communication and playing through schematic mistakes on the defensive end.

“It’s all different every game [early in the season],” Tucker said. “That’s a part of my journey, and my job of learning every single game.”

And he will continue to balance his desire to make up for his curtailed offseason with understanding the steady buildup to the playoffs — even if that means extra midgame strength and conditioning sessions.