Paul Reed effective against Grizzlies in summer league action despite 103-99 loss

SALT LAKE CITY — As a unit, the Summers 76ers definitely have some work to do. But Paul Reed looked like someone ready for a bigger role with the regular Sixers.

Reed finished with game highs of 20 points and 15 rebounds to go with four steals in Tuesday’s 103-99 Salt Lake City Summer League loss to the Memphis Grizzles. The post player scored on a variety of baskets, including a reverse layup, a three-pointer, and an alley-oop dunk. Eleven of his points came in the first quarter.

“That’s the activity we’ve always seen Paul have,” Isaiah Joe said. “It’s nothing new. We’ve seen him do crazy numbers like that all the time. In a game like this, we needed it. We fell short, but nonetheless, Paul can do that tomorrow and the next day.”

The Sixers will face the Utah Jazz at 9 p.m. Wednesday before concluding the summer league at 6 p.m. Thursday against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

» READ MORE: Summer league standouts for the Sixers include Isaiah Joe, Michael Foster Jr.

Joe (19 points, two steals, one block), Jaden Springer (15 points, one steal, one block), Charlie Brown Jr. (15 points, two steals, one block), and Grant Riller (12 points) were the other double-digit scorers. Meanwhile, Cassius Winston added eight assists to go with four points.

As a team, however, the Sixers (0-1) struggled mightily on defense — especially on the perimeter. The Grizzlies (1-0) made 15 of 30 mostly wide-open three-pointers while shooting 51.4 % overall from the field.

“Those [wide-open threes] were the ones that were disappointing to us as a coaching staff and disappointing to the players,” said Sixers skills development coach Tyler Lashbrook, who’s serving as head coach of the Salt Lake City summer league squad. “They took it upon themselves to understand that that’s not acceptable. I think you saw less and less of those open look as the game went on.

“The thing we have get across our heads is that has to be every possession.”

But the Sixers still had chance to win this game.

Joe’s three-pointer with 1:24 remaining pulled the Sixers within 101-99. However, Brown missed a wide-open corner three-pointer, and Springer missed the putback on the Sixers’ next possession.

But Springer made up for his miscue by blocking Xavier Tillman while leaping midair underneath basket. After grabbing the rebound, Springer alertly remained inbounds on the baseline. Then he passed the ball to Joe. Memphis All-Star point guard Ja Morant, who was in attendance, even gave Springer a congratulatory handshake during a break in action.

“It was just a close two-point game,” Springer said. “So I just remembered the guy setting a screen rolling to the basket and they hit him with a dump-off. So I saw he had an easy layup. My first instinct is run and go get it. And that’s just want I did.”

Reed, who was in hot pursuit, had a up-close look at Springer’s big play.

“I was fitting to block that thing myself,” Reed said. “He jumped over me and blocked it. So he grabbed that thing like out of the air.”

The Sixers called timeout with 15 seconds remaining after advancing the ball up the court. However, Springer was stripped after the timeout and the Grizzlies went on win by four points.

At the start, Reed looked like a summer-league ringer while dominating the Grizzlies defenders. The third-year player had eight points on 3-for-3 shooting to go with three rebounds and one steal in the first six minutes.

He didn’t miss a shot until his fifth attempt on a three-pointer. He followed that up with an alley oop-dunk on an assist from Winston later in the first quarter.

“I was just out there making plays, trying to win,” Reed said. “You know I’m a competitor. So I’m out there completing trying to win, trying to get my team the lead. So that’s all I was thinking about at the end of the day.”

He slowed down a little after the first quarter before regaining his rhythm. Reed made 8 of 15 shots for the game.

“That altitude was hitting me,” he said of playing in Salt Lake City, which is 4,327 feet above sea level. “It hit me different. But I got through it. After the second half, I wasn’t really feeling it how I was feeling it in the first half.”

» READ MORE: ‘All we need is today’: Charlie Brown Jr.’s motto provides motivation as he competes for Sixers

Michael Foster Jr. checked in with 1:23 left in the first quarter.

It didn’t take long for the 6-foot-9, 250-pounder, an undrafted rookie, to show why the Sixers staff has been impressed with him. The possession began with Foster defending a player driving the lane. Then he contested two shot attempts and grabbed the defensive rebound to end the possession.

While he played with a lot of energy, Foster appeared to rush things on the offensive end.

The former NBA G League Ignite standout finished with five points and three rebounds.

David Roddy, who the Sixers selected 23rd and traded to Memphis on draft night, finished with four points on 1-for-6 shooting.

Trevelin Queen did not play Tuesday night because of reconditioning. Queen, who signed a two-year deal with the Sixers on Friday, hasn’t played in a basketball game since April. Meanwhile, Filip Petrušev joined the team Tuesday and is not scheduled to play until team heads to Las Vegas for the NBA 2K23 Summer League.

The Sixers selected Petrušev with the 50th pick in 2021. The Serbian power forward/center spent last season in Turkey playing for the Anadolu Efes Sports Club of the Basketball Super League and the EuroLeague.