76ers Praise Tobias Harris for Sharpshooting vs. Raptors

Tobias Harris got off to a quick start for the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night. With the Toronto Raptors in town, Harris helped lead the charge for the Sixers through the first eight minutes of action as he scored a team-high of ten points, knocking down all of his shots from the field.

Harris followed up with a quiet second quarter, as he didn’t have an opportunity to get any shots off in his next nine minutes on the court. In the second half, Harris played in the first 11 minutes of the third quarter, hitting on two of his four shots and producing five points.

Then in the fourth quarter, he knocked down his only shot from deep, helping the Sixers form a small comeback after initially losing their own double-digit lead. Forcing overtime, the Sixers went into the additional five-minute period to drill one shot from beyond the arc, helping the Sixers outscore the Raptors 5-2 to snag a 104-101 win.

“It was great,” said Sixers center Joel Embiid regarding Harris. “He’s a star in his role. That’s what he’s been doing all season. Knocking down big shots, even the ones that got taken away for whatever reason. He’s been great.”

Since the Sixers reunited Harris with Doc Rivers, the former Los Angeles Clippers head coach constantly encouraged the veteran forward to make quick decisions with the ball, launching shots without hesitation. This season, Harris has stuck to his role.

"He's playing right,” said Rivers on Monday. “He's running the floor. I still think there are times when we can get it to him in transition more. I think he's so good in the open floor. He dedicated this summer to being a spot-up shooter making shots, and he's doing that. He's got a quick trigger. You can see he's worked on improving the quickness of his release. He's doing that. He's ready, and that's not easy. You know, going four, five minutes and not getting into ball swings, that's hard… really hard. He stays ready, so very happy with him.”

“He’s transitioned himself into someone that can shoot the ball quickly and efficiently,” added Sixers veteran Georges Niang. “I love that for him because I know how much hard work and effort he puts into it.”

Montrezl Harrell, who played with Harris back when they both competed for the Los Angeles Clippers, has seen Harris gradually improve over the years. On Monday, the veteran center praised Harris for more than just his offensive success as of late.

“He’s a great leader in general, man. … He’s a veteran. He gets his work done, and he’s one of those guys that’s been improving every one of those years in the league, man,” Harrell said of Harris. “You look at his whole track record, I’m not surprised at the way he came out and shot the ball. He was dealing with some back issues the other night, and he came up refreshed and ready to go for tonight.”

After a 21-point night on 5-7 shooting from deep, Harris was a key contributor in the Sixers’ overtime victory. With his 26th matchup of the season in the bag, the veteran forward has averaged 17 points, while draining 42 percent of his threes.

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