Tobias Harris Addresses Changes With Return of James Harden
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Following a 14-game absence due to a tendon strain in his foot, Philadelphia 76ers guard James Harden returned to the court on Monday night to face his former team, the Houston Rockets.
While the Sixers were amid a two-game losing streak, they went into Monday’s game with an 8-6 record in the games they played without Harden. Considering the Sixers started the season off 4-5 with Harden in the lineup, they were starting to find consistent success as they established a rhythm and grew comfortable with who was on the court.
Once Harden returned to the lineup, the Sixers got a boost in the playmaking department, but the growing pains as a whole showed up once again. Not only did the Sixers look lackluster in Houston, especially on the defensive end, but the team struggled to close out the matchup in crunch time, turning the ball over nine times between the fourth quarter and the second overtime.
When Harden rehabbed from his injury, the Sixers established a rhythm by making sure the ball was flowing through everybody. Then when the hot hand is established, the Sixers rely on it to lead them to success. With both Joel Embiid and James Harden back in the mix, the Sixers are expectedly running the offense through them, which remains a work in progress.
Following Monday night’s game in Houston, Tobias Harris addressed the readjustment period for the Sixers as the team gets healthier.
“Those are our best players and the offense flows through them as well,” Harris told reporters. “So we do have to get readjusted and figure out how we continue as a group to be at our best and to be efficient and to continue to put those guys in great positions to do what they do best and that’s score the basketball and make plays for the guys.”
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“When those guys are out for that period of time, and now back, it’s always been a thing for our whole group is figuring out the chemistry,” Harris added. “When you talk earlier, we’ve only had six games a whole group together, but even in those six games, we’re still trying to figure it out. So it’s gonna take time as well, but we still have enough talent and enough depth on this team to be able to, in the midst of gaining chemistry, to figure out ways to lock in and get wins.” (via Ky Carlin of Sixers Wire)
On a personal level, Tobias Harris will be relieved of some pressure moving forward. While the forward likes having the ball in his hands more frequently, Harris has thrived in his role both before and after the All-Stars went out with injuries this season.
With Harden in for the first nine games of the season, Harris’ scoring numbers were down to just 13 points per game. However, his three-point shooting volume was up, along with his efficiency, as he attempted nearly six threes per game, draining 45 percent of them.
After Harden went out, Harris’ three-point average took a dip to 33 percent, but his overall shooting remained at 47 percent from the field, with his scoring average climbing up to 19 points per game.
When Harden returned on Monday, Harris’s usage hit its lowest percent since late October, but he still managed to get up 15 shots from the field, with eight of those attempts coming from beyond the arc. Pumping up his three-point attempts once again with Harden back in the picture, Harris was scorching hot from three, knocking down all but one of his shots from beyond the arc.
Harris will have to adjust the most out of the Sixers’ starting lineup as he’ll have to remain productive while seeing his role minimize in the presence of returning All-Stars. As expected, everything won’t go so smoothly off the rip, as the Sixers are still learning how to click night in and night out.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.
