Paul Reed may have just given the Knicks bulletin board material

Paul Reed, backup center for the 76ers, joined FanDuel TV's "Run it Back" show on Thursday, and admitted that the Sixers were pushing for Wednesday's Play-In Tournament victory over the Heat to avoid the top-seeded Celtics in the first round.

"I feel like we ain't ducking no smoke," Reed said. "Yeah, we wanted the Knicks matchup of course. That's the easier team, I guess."

Judging by record, the Celtics had a far better record than the Knicks this season, but New York could absolutely take Reed's comments as bulletin board material, if they need any extra motivation. Despite being the second seed in the East, they are still betting underdogs against Philly, who many say are a better team than New York with Joel Embiid in the fold.

The Knicks handled the Sixers in their last matchup, winning by 27 points, but Embiid was still sidelined due to recovery from a knee injury. The two teams will be back at it on Saturday for the series opener, as the Sixers got the matchup they wanted, according to Reed.

"It's gonna be fun," Reed said. "We match up pretty well with them. They have a great guard [in Jalen Brunson], we have a great guard [in Tyrese Maxey]. We also have Joel. MVP. He's one of the most unstoppable guys in the league right now. They're gonna have to send triple teams, and he's gonna get everyone else involved I'm sure."