The Philadelphia 76ers will be shorthanded when they take on the Atlanta Hawks on the road on Friday as they will not have Tobias Harris who is out with the flu. The Sixers will be missing 19.2 points and 8.2 rebounds so they will need more out of guys like Matisse Thybulle and Georges Niang in order to get a win.
Harris has been dealing with a lot to begin the 2021-22 season. He missed time with COVID-19 earlier in the season, he has been dealing with a hip injury lately, and now he has the flu. All of that has been tough to deal with mentally and coach Doc Rivers sympathizes with him.
“I talked to him a couple times today,” said Rivers before the matchup with the Hawks. “He’s struggling. The flu hit him really hard, but he’s down about it because he just feels like he can’t get to break. I told him the same thing, like, it’s gonna all work out at some point.”
On the flip side, the time off could do wonders for Harris. He will be able to recover from the flu, shake off the remnants of COVID, and he will also be able to have his hip heal. At that point, he could get back to who he was before and be the dynamic scorer the Sixers need out on the floor.
“Your hip is gonna feel great,” Rivers said of his message to Harris. “You’re not gonna have COVID, you’re not gonna have the flu, and you’re gonna go on a run. You just got to hang in there.”
The Sixers will just have to rely on their depth until it’s time for Harris to return. It will be on Rivers to find the right lineups until they are a healthy team again.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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