Sixers' Tobias Harris Set to Miss Saturday's Game vs. Cavaliers
The Philadelphia 76ers will be without one of their key players on Saturday when they take on the Cleveland Cavaliers at home. According to a team source, the Sixers will have no choice but to roll without the veteran forward Tobias Harris on Saturday as he suffered a knee injury in Thursday night's game against the Dallas Mavericks.
Harris left the game after being on the court for 22 minutes on Thursday night. Although the veteran forward was having a quiet game, his absence didn't go unnoticed as he left for the locker room and never returned to the bench.
The Sixers ruled Harris out in the third quarter with a right knee contusion. After the game, Philly's head coach Doc Rivers mentioned he wasn't exactly sure what Harris was dealing with. However, he did reveal that Harris was set to undergo additional testing on Friday.
After an MRI, the 76ers received promising news as Harris' tests came back negative. With no structural damage revealed, the Sixers' medical team officially diagnosed Harris with a knee contusion, as initially reported.
While the test results issued good news, Harris still isn't ready to return to the court. When the Sixers take on Cleveland this weekend, Harris is guaranteed to be out of the lineup. According to a source, the veteran forward will have his knee re-evaluated in approximately 48 hours from Friday afternoon's results.
His status beyond Saturday's matchup is unclear at the moment. With Harris out of the mix, the Sixers will likely insert his primary backup, Mike Scott, into the starting lineup for the time being unless Rivers decides to really mix it up and insert Ben Simmons at the four. The head coach will offer more clarity on the situation on Saturday.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_
