Following yesterday’s 126-119 home win vs. the Denver Nuggets, Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers applauded PJ Tucker’s outstanding defense on 2x MVP Nikola Jokic.
(via Jump View):
Reporter: “When did you decide to switch the matchups and get PJ on Nikola?”
Rivers: “We talked about it last night, and the night before. I watched the Miami game from a year ago, and I thought Tuck did a really good job on him. We just felt like at halftime we wasn’t up into him. He was catching it where he wanted to catch it, and he’s such a focal point of their offense that if Tuck can get up under him, make him catch it above the 3-point line, now those handoffs, you can go under, they don’t matter anymore. Where in the first half, he caught everything at the elbows and low. Listen Joel was phenomenal, he had 47 points, but we don’t win the game if P.J. Tucker doesn’t play. The way he played in the second half was extraordinary.”
