Paul Reed accepts fourth-quarter benching against Hawks: ‘I see that I did a lot of things wrong’

Paul Reed acknowledged that getting benched for his customary fourth-quarter stint in Friday’s 76ers win against the Atlanta Hawks was “frustrating.”

But the fourth-year reserve big man also took responsibility for his first-half struggles — three turnovers and self-described defensive lapses during a six-minute stretch, when Atlanta began to flip a double-digit deficit into a six-point halftime lead — that prompted coach Nick Nurse to switch up the lineup.

“I try to hold myself accountable and look myself in the mirror,” Reed said Monday after the team’s shootaround. “After watching film, I see that I did a lot of things wrong out there. … I feel like I’ve got to just do better on my end, and I can make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

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Nurse said he replaced Reed in the fourth quarter with Mo Bamba to give the Sixers more rim protection after the Hawks grabbed eight offensive rebounds in the second quarter alone and “just put their head down and went to the front of the rim — boom, boom, boom — about six straight times.”

Bamba grabbed three rebounds in his 5 minutes, 19 minutes on the floor and earned postgame praise from Nurse for his work ethic and attitude even while getting very little early-season playing time.

Before Friday, though, Reed also had largely been commended for his play as Joel Embiid’s backup. Known as an elite rebounder and active defender, Reed has been producing career highs in points (5.0 per game), rebounds (4.2) and minutes (14.1).

There is a chance Reed and Bamba are both needed during Monday’s game against the Washington Wizards, given Embiid’s questionable status after twisting his left knee in the fourth quarter in Friday’s win. The NBA’s reigning Most Valuable Player wore a sleeve on his leg while going through light shooting drills following Monday’s shootaround, and was described by Nurse as nearly a full participant in Sunday’s practice.

The Sixers’ rotation remains in flux after Kelly Oubre Jr. returned from a fractured rib last week and the players acquired in the James Harden trade have become more acclimated.

That includes deciding between Nicolas Batum and Oubre as a starting forward. When asked before Friday’s game if that had been solidified, Nurse quipped, “I wouldn’t put it in concrete, and I wouldn’t put it as fluid, either.”

Batum is a versatile defender whose assignments have ranged from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to LeBron James in recent weeks, and he also has a quick three-point trigger and playmaking ability. Oubre is a super athlete and more electric scorer who was averaging more than 16 points in the eight games before his injury.

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In recent days, both players shrugged off the importance of starting vs. coming off the bench.

“For me, I don’t think that’s a big change, anyway,” Batum said following Sunday’s practice. “… Whatever [Nurse] asks me to do, I’m going to do.”

Added Oubre: “I try to be water. … Coach is a genius, though. He knows how to coach the game. He knows how to put people in the right places. So I trust him, and I just want to win.”