The biggest change surrounding the Philadelphia 76ers right now is the move of Al Horford to the bench. The move sends some shockwaves throughout the team as they try and figure out their new roles after playing one role for a little over 50 games.
One of those changes is Tobias Harris moving back from the small forward position to the power forward spot. Harris was the team’s power forward when he initially came to Philadelphia as the team had Jimmy Butler at the small forward spot and he moved over to accommodate Horford, but with the recent lineup change, Harris goes back to the 4.
“I played mostly small forward this year, but back-and-forth a little bit,” explained Harris. “We’ll see what’s there in the games. Obviously, it’s going to be a little bit of an adjustment, but the biggest thing is probably going to be the adjustment defensively. Offensively, I’ll be able to figure it out pretty easily and see what’s there and play off everybody.”
Harris had a strong game against the Los Angeles Clippers at the power forward spot as he had 17 points with 11 coming in the first quarter. He seemed like he was much more comfortable at the 4 as he was able to find his rhythm.
“I think it was some of the opportunities that were there for me,” he said. “It was opportunities and the way the flow of the game was and how they play defense. Who was matched up with me and whatnot.”
On top of what Harris was able to do at the power forward spot, the move paid off for Horford and Joel Embiid. Horford was able to accept his bench role with grace as he wants to do what’s best for the team and that’s something that Harris is impressed with.
“He’s just a professional,” Harris said of Horford. “Everything we’ve already known about him and obviously as a group and as a team, we’re still trying to figure out and see what works best. So, just to have that mentality and do what could be a great move for our team and see if it works. It just shows a winning attitude, a winning mentality, and we’ll see if it works.”
The Sixers will now get back to work on Thursday as they host the Brooklyn Nets. The move of Horford to the bench and Harris sliding over to the power forward spot is something that will definitely deserve to have an eye kept on as the team moves forward.[lawrence-related id=26090,26081,26071]