Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris is one of the top players on the team and he is also their highest-paid player so criticism comes with the territory under these circumstances.
In Monday’s 133-113 win over the Houston Rockets at home, Harris shot only 6-for-15 on his way to 14 points, six rebounds, and six assists. He shot only 3-for-10 in the first half and the fans began to boo Harris for his tough night in classic Philadelphia fashion.
Harris responded by raising his arms and egging them on. Even after a clutch shot in the fourth quarter, he told the fans to quiet down and to not clap for him as he began expressing a bit of frustration.
“I thought it was nothing,” said Joel Embiid of the interaction with the fans. “He didn’t make shots today, but I thought he contributed when he was on the floor. Plus or minus is a floor stat, but you look at when he was on the floor, he did a great job. Whether it was getting guys open or defensively, I thought he was pretty good.”
Despite the poor shooting, Harris did do other things to help the team get the job done. He was big on the glass, he made good plays with his passing to get his teammates some open looks, and he made some hustle plays. That is what the Sixers are going to focus on rather than his interaction with some frustrated fans.
“We talked about it at halftime, we ran the first play at half for him,” said acting head coach dan Burke. “The kid got six rebounds, three offensive that led to big buckets, he gets six assists, and I think he presses so hard on himself and he’s gotta understand Doc (Rivers) has so much confidence in him and we all do it.”
Even during that halftime locker room session, Embiid told Burke to run the first play for Harris to open the half despite his slow start.
“You know what was good, we pulled together Joel was saying ‘Call this play for Tobias. Call that play for him’ and I saw teammates lifting him up,” Burke added. “If we have that every night, no matter what’s going on, we’re going to keep growing. We’re gonna be going in the right direction. Tobias, don’t put pressure on himself and there’s so many ways to help your team win the game. That’s what he did tonight.”
Burke did admit that he was surprised to see Harris raise his hands to the fans. That is normally not Harris’ style as he is more of a preserved guy who just goes about his business.
Please be advised that the clip below contains language that some might consider offensive.
After encouraging Sixers fans to keep booing after committing a boneheaded shotclock violation (not in video), Tobias Harris gets away with a travel, hits a short range shot, and tells the fans "Don't f*cking clap!" pic.twitter.com/bwPgs6Agrv
— hoops bot (@hoops_bot) January 4, 2022
“He’s maybe since I’ve been here, one of the surprise guys for me,” said Burke. “How professional he is and what a genuine good guy he is and he really leads by example, not very vocal. So when I saw him raise his hands when they were booing, and we talked about it at halftime, the only thing that matters is who’s in that locker room. Part of what we have to grow from my experience from last year is our focus. Shut out that noise and when we’re between those lines, it can’t be the officials, it can’t be the fans, it can’t be anything like that.”
The Sixers still have faith in Harris and this is one of those games that proves it even after a tough night.
“It happens to the best of us,” Embiid finished. “Frustrating night. It’s hard when you’re not making shots. I thought he’s been fine. He’s gonna be better. I have a lot of faith in them.”
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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