Tag: Tobias Haris

Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris expected to sit Saturday vs. Minnesota

Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris are expected to sit on Saturday as the 76ers host the Timberwolves.

Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris are expected to sit on Saturday as the Philadelphia 76ers host the Minnesota Timberwolves, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Maxey suffered a left foot injury in the second quarter on Friday in a win over the Milwaukee Bucks. He was eventually ruled out of returning in the second half as X-rays were negative. He was due to undergo an MRI on the foot on Saturday.

He had 24 points, five assists and four rebounds prior to leaving.

Meanwhile, Harris is expected to miss his second straight game due to left hip soreness. It appears as though he is close to returning, but will likely sit. He last played on Sunday versus the Utah Jazz, recording eight points, six rebounds and two assists in the 105-98 win.

Without Maxey and Harris, Doc Rivers’ team will once again be short-handed. Rivers could turn to Shake Milton to start in place of Maxey while Danuel House Jr. will likely earn the nod in place of Harris again on Saturday.

The game is scheduled to tip off at 7:30 p.m. EST.

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Sixers continuing to preach quick moves to Tobias Harris on offense

The Philadelphia 76ers are continuing to preach quick decisions to Tobias Harris on the offensive end.

Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris has drawn the ire of the fan base in the City of Brotherly Love as they have been upset with his shooting numbers and his up and down play.

After a near All-Star season in 2021 where he shot 51.2% from the floor and 39.4% from deep while averaging 19.5 points, those numbers have dropped to 46.1% from the floor and just 31.6% from deep. It seems that he has been impacted the most by the absence of Ben Simmons on this roster.

Things have gotten better over his last eight games as he is shooting 50% from the floor and 38.5% from deep while averaging 17.5 points. This is due to coach Doc Rivers continuing to preach quick decisions to him.

“Every day, but you get stuck,” said Rivers. “It happens, you do, and that’s why with all the stuff about Tobias, I was never that concerned. You can see he worked on stuff all summer and that’s what happens. You work on your game, you work on stuff, and the season starts and you try to do it and then you get caught in thought. It happens to a lot of players and they get out of it. Tobias, as you can see, is starting to get out of it.”

There are two games in that stretch that really stick out for Harris. In their Jan. 15 win over the Miami Heat, Harris had 22 points on 9-for-13 shooting and he had 21 points on 8-for-13 shooting against the Orlando Magic on Wednesday as his play was lost in the 50-point barrage from Joel Embiid.

“Very efficient,” Rivers said after the win over Orlando. “We fell on a really nice set in the second half that we worked on and it was very efficient for him because it caught him moving and making quick decisions as well so that was good.”

That’s the big thing with Harris. When he gets caught up in trying to dance and take a guy off the dribble, he can get a little stagnant and the offense for both him and the team overall can be a bit rough. Against the Heat, Harris wasn’t thinking with the basketball. That allowed him to have success out there.

“I like that it’s quicker,” Rivers finished. “He made a lot of plays the other night (against Miami) for not just himself, for everyone. Everything was quick, decisive, I told our guys I thought it was one of our most decisive games. No hesitation.”

This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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Sixers confident in Dwight Howard, depth in wake of Joel Embiid injury

The Philadelphia 76ers feel confident in Dwight Howard and the backup center depth in the wake of Joel Embiid’s injury.

The Philadelphia 76ers welcomed Joel Embiid back to the lineup on Friday night after he missed a game to contact tracing protocols, but they then lost him again in the third quarter of their win over the Washington Wizards due to a knee injury.

The Sixers were still able to win the game thanks largely in part to Embiid’s efforts before the injury, but as well as their bench unit.

Dwight Howard came in and provided six points and 10 rebounds and Tony Bradley also had six points and three rebounds in his nine minutes of play. The fact that the Sixers can turn to Howard as well as Bradley if Embiid is to miss significant time is a big help.

“Obviously, Joel is MVP of the league,” said coach Doc Rivers. “But having Tony and Dwight and Vincent (Poirier), having Mike Scott’s ability to play the 5. Hopefully, if Joel’s out at any point, we can hold the fort.”

One thing is for sure, if Embiid is to miss time, Howard will be ready to step in right away and produce, as will Bradley. The two of them combined for 32 points and 17 rebounds in Thursday’s win over the Chicago Bulls and they played well again on Friday.

They just have to keep it pushing.

“When you just look at his body of work through his whole career and kind of how he recreated his game in his last two years in the league, Dwight’s a great leader for our team,” said Tobias Harris. “There’s a lot of things that he does behind the scenes in team meetings and team get-togethers and in the huddles that is always encouraging guys.”

Howard, especially, has a bit of an up and down season when it comes to his consistency, but he is a guy who brings a lot of energy and positivity to the floor. At this point, he just needs to be able to keep his head high and keep going forward.

“The last few games, you’re just seeing all that come together and he’s been playing great basketball for us and he has been all year,” Harris added. “That’s just really what we expect of him. Even in the Chicago game, we’re out there watching I was like ‘dang like this is, this is like primetime Dwight right now that we’re seeing’ so it’s great to see.”

The Sixers do have a day off on Saturday to figure things out before hosting the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday, but if Embiid can’t go, it is nice to have reinforcements.

“It’s a long season so at the end of the day, hopefully it’s not something where we lose him, obviously,” said Rivers. “Our guys will be good, we’ll be ready.”

This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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