Paul Reed has always had the heart of the basketball analytics community.
On Wednesday night, in the starting lineup for the incredibly shorthanded Detroit Pistons, Reed showed why.
He put up a stat line never done in the history of the NBA to lead the Pistons past the Chicago Bulls.
Those stats:
- 28 points
- 13 rebounds
- 6 assists
- 4 steals
- 2 3-pointers
- 11-13 FG
According to StatMuse, Reed is the first player to have all those counting stats while shooting at least 80% from the field.
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The conceptual problem with Reed is that he's always been a bit of a 'tweener. He's not really big enough to be a traditional center.
On this night, though, the Pistons didn't have a lot of choice. With both Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart out, it was Reed and Daniss Jenkins that were going to hold down the frontcourt, for better or worse.
Reed clearly didn't mind a featured role. He scored and dished and swiped and hit the glass.
He may never get a chance like this again in his NBA career.
But on this night, Reed was legitimately unmatched. He proved how special he can be.
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