The Philadelphia 76ers are not here to earn their glory in the regular season. Success for them means a championship — or at the very least a conference finals appearance. The long game is what matters to them. For this reason, the Sixers should start playing PJ Tucker for fewer minutes and strongly consider moving him to the bench.
It's well known by this point that the stats aren't as important with Tucker. The 37-year-old forward's toughness and defense have made him such a sought-after role player in each of the past two offseasons. Still, his 3.4 points per game in 27.7 minutes is tough to overlook. His defense has been shaky as of late, too. Several of the star players he has been asked to guard — such as Zion Williamson, Julius Randle, Pascal Siakam and Kristaps Porzingis — have had big games against him.
Although Tucker isn't laying goose eggs in the scoring column as frequently as he used to, his value on that end is evaporating quickly. From game to game, his amount of field goals made and attempted usually resembles a score from a soccer match. PBP Stats' tracking data says that only 3.77 percent of his shots are self-created. Only three other players in the entire NBA are below him in that stat. His good sense of spacing and screening doesn't make up for his inability to score.
To his credit, Tucker has remained an efficient shooter in the rare instances he does let it fly, shooting 38.3 percent from downtown. But because he looks for a lot of space to get his shot off, defenses have started leaving him. Additionally, Philly hasn't always turned to him in clutch situations. In several of the Sixers' recent wins, he sat for the fourth quarter. He played briefly in the fourth quarter of their latest win over the Indiana Pacers but sat out all of overtime.
The Sixers should start decreasing Tucker's minutes until the postseason to help increase his odds of bouncing back keeping him fresh. Doing so will help him and the team in the long run. He's under contract for three seasons on a team whose lone aspiration is a championship. Letting him rack up copious amounts of minutes in the regular season when he's this ineffective isn't worth it.
To make matters even more dire, Tucker recently said he was playing through a pinched nerve in his hand. He also got hurt against the Pacers, briefly going back to the locker room before returning in the first half. Allowing a veteran and key playoff contributor to play through injury is nonsensical. Cutting his minutes down to the low 20s would be best for both parties, as would resting him entirely when he's hurt.
One issue with benching PJ Tucker, though, is that there isn't a clear option for who to play in his place. His defensive versatility, shooting efficiency and hustle are still useful and few other players on the roster have that blend of skills. It could be argued that because the starting lineup is already solid with an offensive liability, it's okay for another to take his place. But because the Sixers are hovering around league average in offensive efficiency, a true upgrade is needed.
De'Anthony Melton is the best option on the current roster. The starting lineup looked very good with him in Tyrese Maxey's place when he was injured and he brings a unique impact because of his versatility on both ends of the floor. Three-guard lineups have the potential to be very good for the Sixers but using them too often may jeopardize that. Melton's solid rebounding abilities for a guard notwithstanding, it also doesn't help the Sixers improve on the glass, which they really need to.
Georges Niang could bring a huge boost to the offense with his shooting but he would also be another easy target on defense. Matisse Thybulle would be the inverse of this, though the Sixers have surprisingly been very good with him on the court. Danuel House Jr. fits the 3-and-D mold but has been too inconsistent for even a regular bench role, let alone a starting one.
The Sixers should pursue a 3-and-D wing as trade talks start really heating up so that they have more than just a few options to defend the many star forwards they'll see in the postseason. PJ Tucker may not be super impactful now but he will become more valuable in slowed-down, grind-it-out postseason matchups. Getting the best out of him in those games is a race that has to be taken slowly and steadily in order to win.
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