Sixers' Tobias Harris Embraces the Challenge of Winning Without Joel Embiid
When Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid remained on the floor holding his knee after a hard fall last week, everybody held their breath.
There was a sigh of relief when he managed to get up and walk off the court using his own power, but an MRI revealed a bone bruise, which will now keep Embiid away from the Sixers for the next couple of weeks.
So far, the Sixers have played two games without Embiid. And in those two matchups against the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks, they came out on top with a win.
While most of the Sixers' roster has a hand in that success, 76ers veteran forward Tobias Harris has been leading the charge as he's seizing the opportunity to step up and take over.
"I try to just find motivation in different areas," Harris explained on Tuesday night after the Sixers defeated the Knicks at home.
"I think just the challenge of having Joel out, it's a new challenge that's presented for us as a team, and I want to embrace that challenge. I know how good of a team we are with him. I know how good of a team we are even without him."
During the first half of the season, the Sixers crumbled more often than not when Embiid wasn't playing. In the second half, it's been a different story.
Obviously, any team that loses an MVP-caliber player to injury will deal with kinks and struggles to overcome. So, when Embiid went down, many assumed the Sixers would go that direction as well.
Hearing the critics, Harris uses the negative noise outside as a motivational tool to prove everybody wrong.
"I embrace all of those challenges with what anybody has to say," he continued. "You know, it doesn't really affect myself because I know when I look at everyone in the locker room in the eye before the game, we're ready to go out there and win."
After issuing a double-digit loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday without Embiid, the Sixers defeated the Knicks in a gutsy matchup with a 99-96 win on Tuesday.
Now, the road gets even tougher as Harris and 76ers will host the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night for the second half of a back-to-back. If they can pull out a difficult win, Philly would make it three-straight victories without the four-time All-Star and seven-straight victories overall.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_ & Instagram: @JGrassoNBA.
