March 14, 2024
Bill Streicher/USA TODAY Sports
Tobias Harris has continued to struggle mightily on both ends of the floor of late -- in a time when the Sixers have needed him to step up most.
The graphic aired by TNT before the beginning of the second half of the Sixers' brutal loss to the New York Knicks on Tuesday night told the entire story. It read, "Where is Tobias Harris?"
Harris went on to finish that game with just two points on 1-6 shooting across 26 minutes. It was perhaps the most conspicuous example of his struggles in a season that has been full of them. He started the game by missing on two wide open corner three-point tries. He converted one layup in the third quarter, and it was the only positive play he made in the entire game.
While it may have never gotten quite that ugly before Tuesday night, Harris' struggles have hamstrung his team in the worst of ways amid a stretch in which it has needed him to step up most.
Joel Embiid has been sidelined for nearly six weeks. In 16 games since then, Harris has scored 15.8 points per game -- considerably lower than his season average -- and that noteworthy decline has come despite a healthy appetite of shot attempts. Harris has shot below 45 percent from the field and a strikingly brutal 28.3 percent from beyond the arc over the course of those 16 games.
Tyrese Maxey recently returned after missing four games due to a concussion. In those four games, with Maxey and Embiid both unavailable, Harris had the ultimate opportunity to step up. Instead, his points per game and scoring efficiency both took additional nosedives: averaging 37.2 minutes per game, Harris scored just 14.5 points per contest, shooting 41 percent from the field and 12.5 percent from three-point range.
For years, the Sixers have presented Harris as some sort of ultimate sacrificer, a player who could do so much more if simply given the opportunity. Players, coaches and front office executives alike have constantly showered him with praise for taking a back seat to players like Embiid, Maxey and James Harden.
But in reality, taking a back seat is Harris' greatest skill -- not his scoring, his shooting or his defense. That is why with Embiid and Maxey hurt, we all watched as he took a back seat to... Kelly Oubre Jr. and Cam Payne.
Due to being decimated by injuries to Embiid, Maxey and others, the Sixers are at tremendous risk of falling into the NBA's Play-In Tournament. The Eastern Conference standings are airtight, and the Sixers are at the point of the season in which every game genuinely matters for reasons related to playoff seeding.
After Tuesday night's disastrous showing, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse was asked if he has considered moving Harris to the bench in light of his significant struggles.
"Nope," Nurse said. "Not yet."
Which five players start a game for each team is much less relevant than it used to be. So, if Nurse wants to keep Harris in his starting unit as to not ruffle any feathers, that is justifiable. Minutes totals and closing lineups are much more pivotal.
What is not justifiable, though, is Harris consistently receiving as many minutes and opportunities as he has been.
If Harris cannot figure out these issues and get back on track soon, Nurse has to seriously ponder making a significant change to his rotation -- even if that is not removing Harris from the starting lineup. It could just be quietly trimming his minutes or removing him from closing lineup.
It is no surprise that the team is acting publicly as if it has little concern regarding Harris' performance. But the fact is this: only 18 NBA players are being paid more money than Harris this season. In a league with a restrictive salary cap, paying nearly $40 million to a player who has spent the vast majority of multiple consecutive months largely unable to contribute to winning basketball makes it nearly impossible to succeed in the way the Sixers aim to succeed.
The trade deadline is long gone and there is no turning back for the Sixers. Harris is on the books for $39.2 million in 2023-24 no matter what happens. Nurse and co. need to be prepared to rip the Band-Aid soon and acknowledge that what Harris has given them this season is not good enough. The longer they partake in any charades that indicate otherwise, the deeper a hole they will dig for themselves.
