MILWAUKEE — There are 82 games in an NBA season. 82 contests of intense competition and challenges that can be extremely challenging for any player in this league.
Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris is going through those ups and downs in the 2023-24 season. Over his past 12 games, he’s shooting 41.3% from the floor and 28.6% from deep while averaging 14.4 points. If it weren’t for a 31-point game and a 28-point game, those numbers would be even lower.
With that said, Harris and the Sixers have had to go through a lot of adversity thus far. There have been a lot of adjustments from the big James Harden trade early in the season to the flurry of moves made at the deadline combined with injuries and guys being in and out of the lineup. That’s tough for anybody to handle, but that’s the beauty of the NBA season: there’s always another game.
“I think the most beautiful thing about sports and the NBA and sports, in general, is just how many games we play and how you kind of really got to stay in the moment of it and move on to the next game and the next challenge that’s presented and make a few adjustments and be ready,” said Harris told Sixers Wire at practice on Wednesday. “You can’t get lost in it. You can’t get lost in the lows of it, really. So for our team, our group, myself, it’s figuring out ways we can be better and figuring out ways to kind of adapt and do whatever you can contribute to winning.”
Harris was unable to impact winning in Tuesday’s blowout loss to the New York Knicks. He only had two points on 1-for-6 shooting and had a tough night defensively. With Joel Embiid still sidelined, he has to be better. He knows it. Everybody knows it. The challenge now is to overcome the challenges in his way.
On top of the in-season tests he has had to face, Harris will also enter free agency this summer. That is something that also has to be on his mind. It’s just human nature to think about something like that.
“All those things are variables,” Harris stated. “At the end of the day, it’s more so just about playing the game and figuring out how to be at your best, individually and as a team. It’s just like any type of occupation or job. There are things that are presented that are variables of performance, but at the end of the day, you figure out ways to adjust and find a good flow in it.”
Harris has a lot riding on these final 17 games of the season. He will look to find some type of rhythm and flow before the playoffs begin and will want to make a free-agency statement.
That’s the beauty of being in the moment: there’s always another opportunity.
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