Sixers' Tobias Harris is Battling a Minor Setback

Last Friday, Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris was seen limping a bit in the matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans. Although his knee was bothering him, Harris still remained in the game to complete a 34-minute shift, where he accounted for a team-high of 23 points in the loss to the Pelicans.

The following night, the Sixers had to tip-off against the Oklahoma City Thunder on the road, and Harris went into matchup questionable. As his knee was still sore from the night before, Harris planned to test it out during pregame warmups before the team decided whether he was going to play or not.

As we know now, Harris was ruled out for the matchup. His setback didn't seem like a big deal since Harris wasn't listed on Philly's injury report ahead of Monday's matchup against the Dallas Mavericks. 

The veteran forward played in Dallas on Monday and had himself a quiet night as he checked in for 28 minutes and scored just ten points. Harris steered clear of the injury report again ahead of Wednesday's showdown with the Brooklyn Nets. 

Although he checked in for 34 minutes, Harris was absent towards the end of the game when the Sixers were attempting to hold onto the lead as the Nets were forming a comeback. Following the game, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers revealed that they kept Harris out of the game because the veteran's knee was an issue.

"He was limping around," Rivers said following the game. "I felt we could win the game without him. You know, I didn't want to take a chance, and we did [keep him on the bench]. So, [the knee] was the reason."

Harris finished Wednesday night's game with 26 points, five rebounds, and three assists. Despite putting on an excellent performance, Harris mentioned that he almost didn't play against the Nets because of his issue after the game.

"I've been having a little aching in my knee," Harris said after the win over the Nets. "That was kind of limiting me there in the fourth quarter. It's kind of a day-by-day thing to get myself as much rest and take proper care of my knee treatment-wise. Going into today's game, it was pretty much 50-50 if I was going to be able to go."

Harris considers himself to be day-by-day right now. With the Sixers free from games and practice on Thursday, he'll have a full day of recovery before the Sixers return to the Wells Fargo Center on Friday night for a matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_ & Instagram: @JGrassoNBA.