The Philadelphia 76ers were huge underdogs heading into this Round 1 playoff series with the Boston Celtics. That’s what happens when Ben Simmons is out for basically the season after undergoing knee surgery to repair a subluxation in his left knee.
So, in order to have a chance against Boston, that meant they needed Tobias Harris to step up in a huge way to help Joel Embiid. It is only fair after the Sixers gave him a 5-year $180 million contract in the offseason.
However, Harris has been an absolute disaster to start the playoffs averaging only 14 points on 33.3% shooting and he is 0-for-5 from deep in the series. That has caused Philadelphia to go down 0-2 in the series and they are in dire straits as they move forward.
“It’s always on my mind how do I help Tobias?” said coach Brett Brown. “How do I better coach him to help him where he can put his thumbprint on our offense? We need other contributors other than Joel. He’s a great player. He’s improved tremendously this year in a bunch of ways offensively. I’m always thinking ‘what can I do better to help him’.”
This has not been just this series either. Harris struggled in the 2019 playoffs with Philadelphia as well as he was not able to get it going against the Toronto Raptors in the semifinals. One way to get him going could be to run more. He is a terrific athlete who can get out in transition so that could be in option.
“I think that we can push the button more than we are on just running and getting out in open court,” Brown added. “I feel like that’s probably the number 1 thing. I can talk about trying to bait switches with Kemba (Walker) or trying to post him more or flare him to threes. I think he’s been doing a really good job of attacking and getting to the rim. I feel like the pace aspect and getting out into a cleaner, more spaced court would be the starting point.”
The one thing Harris has going for him is that he has been aggressive in attacking the basket. He shot eight free throws in Game 2, but he only made five of them. He also pulled down 10 rebounds so he is finding other ways to contribute, but the main thing is his offense. Philadelphia needs him to score in the worst way.
“I thought that he was in attack mode in a good way,” Brown finished with. “I think he just didn’t finish. I credit his mentality to get in there. He had eight free throws, he had 10 rebounds, and he just had a rough night finishing. He had a rough night making shots. I give credit to the Celtics, in general, that’s not a consistent performance from him as it relates to shot making and tonight was just a down night.”
For Philadelphia to have a shot at getting back into this series, they will most certainly need Harris to step up and provide the offense the team needs. He averaged 19.6 points in the regular season and the Sixers will need that and then some to get back into this. [lawrence-related id=37028,37025,37022]