Pacers’ Rick Carlisle Believes Tobias Harris Deserves More Credit
The Philadelphia 76ers hosted the Indiana Pacers on Monday night for their fourth outing of the year. Going into the matchup, the Sixers were 0-3 with losses against the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, and the San Antonio Spurs.
Despite the Sixers being winless, the Indiana Pacers knew they were going to have their hands full as Philadelphia’s 0-3 start shocked the basketball world, considering the talent they possess.
In Joel Embiid, the Sixers have a back-to-back MVP runner-up. In James Harden, Philadelphia has a ten-time All-Star guard who once dominated the league in scoring for three consecutive seasons and is looking to do so once again.
Then, there’s the third-year guard Tyrese Maxey, who many predict will become a first-time All-Star sometime soon. Before Monday’s game, Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle highlighted Embiid, Harden, and Maxey as players that would have the Pacers’ “hands full.”
However, Carlisle couldn’t help but note that the Sixers have a fourth offensive weapon that teams tend to forget about or underestimate when they face the 76ers.
“We know we got major problems to deal with [when it comes to] Joel (Embiid), with James (Harden), Tyrese Maxey,” said Carlisle. “They’re great. People don’t talk about Tobias Harris enough. You know, he’s a tremendous player. We got our hands full.”
Being in the NBA since 2011, Harris is well-known around the league. Still, he’s often underrated since he’s surrounded by All-Stars in Philadelphia. As a result, Harris believes there are times defenses might underestimate what he can do on the court.
“From time to time,” a smirking Harris said when asked about whether he believes he’s underestimated by defenses or not. “It depends on who you ask.”
Harris didn’t want to pat himself on the back. Instead, he’ll let an NBA Champion and former Coach of the Year winner speak for his game.
“If Coach Carlisle said that, that’s a pretty good person to state that,” Harris finished. “I’ll take that as a compliment. I appreciate that.”
Since joining the Sixers during the 2018-2019 season, Harris has been one of Philly’s most reliable offensive players. From his first full season in 2019 to last season, Harris started 207 games. He’s drained 37 percent of his threes and averaged 18 points per game.
Going into Monday’s game against the Pacers, Harris’ scoring average was slightly down, as he averaged 14 points in three games. From beyond the arc, though, Harris was hitting on 44 percent of his shots.
The veteran forward continued letting shots rain from deep on Monday. In 28 minutes of action, Harris put up ten three-pointers, knocking down four of them. He finished the night with 18 points, eight rebounds, two assists, and a blocked shot as the Sixers cruised past the Pacers 120-106.
Being under the radar might work well in Harris' favor in the long run, but he surely proved Carlisle right on Monday night.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.
