NEW YORK — In the Philadelphia 76ers' third blowout loss to the New York Knicks this season, Tobias Harris hit a new low. It's another low point for the veteran forward in a stretch of several weeks where it feels like he can hardly string together two decent games, let alone strong performances.
In 26 minutes in the loss to the Knicks, Harris scored just two points on 1-6 shooting, his lowest point total in any game this season. He tallied three rebounds, two steals and one assist and registered a +/- of -20. His defense was uninspired and ineffective, he didn’t take a lot of initiative to make his own shots (or create many for his teammates) and he couldn’t connect on the easy shots his teammates got for him.
From this game to being outclassed by a Memphis Grizzlies team riddled with G Leaguers to prior games against playoff teams where he felt invisible, Harris is in the worst stretch of his 76ers tenure. Something has to change. One drastic measure, a move to the bench, has shown to be effective for some of his teammates. Nick Nurse isn’t ready to go there at this time.
In the 76ers' win this past weekend over the Knicks, Buddy Hield played very well in his first time coming off the bench for Philly. His highly efficient 16 points played a huge role in the first Sixers victory this season to not feature both Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.
Nurse said after the game that moving a player from the starting lineup to the bench can bump them down in the opposing team's game plan and allow them to find a new, improved rhythm. Seeing how this has helped Hield and Kelly Oubre Jr. previously, will Nurse consider benching Harris?
“Nope, not yet,” Nurse said.
In fairness, Harris' situation is much different from that of Oubre and Hield. He has been a 76ers starter for six seasons now while Oubre and Hield are newcomers with experience as bench players over prolonged stretches in past seasons. To be Harris' third head coach in Philly and the first to bench him is a difficult spot to put oneself in.
Still, whatever remedy may exist to get Tobias Harris playing better, the 76ers urgently need to find one. Harris' lack of aggression is compounded by his preference to hunt for shots in less efficient areas of the floor. He's not a consistent presence on the boards, on or off the ball on defense or on offense if he isn’t getting an isolation in the post.
Brilliant pass from Tyrese Maxey, brilliant pass from Kelly Oubre. But Tobias Harris misses both open corner threes. pic.twitter.com/XHKIbnaV7y
— Daniel Olinger (@dan_olinger) March 13, 2024
“Well, he had a couple of really good looks right at the start,” Nurse said. “I think some catch-and-shoot threes that were great passes out. Those don't go. Again, I think they did a really good job of not letting him see the ball much and when he did have it, they were really up in him and rounding out his drives and the shots he did get were really contested.”
The 76ers would have still probably lost by a lot to the Knicks if Harris played better. But no-show games like these are happening with stunning regularity. Without Joel Embiid (and Tyrese Maxey for the prior four games) to cover up his deficiencies, Harris has only been able to notch good performances against lackluster defenses. That's a frightening trend for a team facing a slate of playoff teams in its next dozen games and is trying to stay above the play-in game.
Tobias Harris said he's looking for ways to be effective for the 76ers on both ends of the court.
“For myself, personally, just gotta make the shots. I mean, there's five shots I missed there. I gotta make 'em,” Harris said after the loss to New York. “Outside of that, still gotta figure out ways on the other end to be effective for our group. Try to get some deflections, create some energy [and] momentum plays. And then on the offensive end, just take what the defense gives you and convert on some more looks.”
With Embiid still out for a yet-to-be-determined amount of time, the 76ers have to at least get Harris to a level where he’s passable. If the second-highest-paid player on the team is going to actively hurt its chances of winning with the top dog on the mend, the Sixers cannot go another second without ways to try to exterminate this funk.
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