76ers’ Doc Rivers Addresses Sudden Tobias Harris Injury

With the Golden State Warriors in town, the Philadelphia 76ers anticipated getting much healthier as multiple players were returning to the court after missing Tuesday’s game against the Sacramento Kings. While De’Anthony Melton and Danuel House Jr. returned to the floor as expected, the Sixers lost a starter last minute.

Roughly 30 minutes before the Sixers and the Warriors tipped off, Philadelphia ruled out its starting forward, Tobias Harris. According to the team, Harris was dealing with back pain on Friday night.

“We got the late scratch with Tobias [on Friday], literally as late as you can have a scratch,” said Sixers head coach Doc Rivers after Friday’s game. “So, we had to scramble.”

Without Harris in the starting five, the Sixers started Matisse Thybulle for the second-straight game.

“At this point, we’re so used to it,” Thybulle said regarding the sudden absences of the team. “It just is what it is. Just be ready, and do your part to help the team.”

Without Harris, the Sixers found success against an undermanned Warriors team. While a slow start wasn’t ideal, Philadelphia came out on top with a 118-106 victory, collecting their fourth-straight win. Now, they’ll get the next two days off from games before returning to the court on Monday to face the Toronto Raptors once again. Whether the Sixers will have Harris back on the floor or not is unclear at the moment.

“We have no idea, he was great in shootaround this morning,” Rivers said when discussing Harris. “You know, he went out on the floor and shot, then came back in and said his back was really bothering him. He went back out to see if he could loosen it up. He came back, and he didn’t, and I think they told me about it late.”

While details remain unclear, Harris’ setback doesn’t seem significant at the moment.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.