76ers’ Tobias Harris Crafts Best Scoring Stretch Since Last Season

With the Philadelphia 76ers shorthanded and down two starters lately, they need others to move up the totem pole in the scoring department, especially with Joel Embiid currently out.

Once again, Embiid is the Sixers’ leading scorer, who happens to top the league in that category as he averages 35 points per game. For the third straight season, Embiid is on the path to winning the league’s scoring champion title once again.

Lately, the Sixers haven’t benefitted from Embiid’s scoring, though. As the big man suffered an ankle sprain in the Sixers’ win over the Toronto Raptors last Friday, Embiid hasn’t been available in the Sixers’ previous two games against the Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic.

Without Embiid and the starting forward Nic Batum, the Sixers have relied more on the fourth-year guard Tyrese Maxey and the seasoned veteran Tobias Harris.

For the latter player, he’s seen a significant boost in production since his usage increased in the absence of other starters.

A Notable Streak

Over the years, Tobias Harris’s scoring production on the Sixers has been somewhat of a roller coaster. Prior to last season, Harris averaged 19 points over his first three full seasons in Philadelphia. Last season, Harris dipped to 15 points per game in 74 outings.

This year, that number’s up to 17 points per game. While Harris is still searching for consistency throughout the long season, his recent three-game stretch has been a promising sight.

For the first time since late November of last season, Harris has scored at least 20 points in three consecutive games.

In last Friday’s win over the Raptors, Harris knocked down 52 percent of his shots from the field, scoring a season-high 33 points. On Christmas Day, the Sixers lost to the Miami Heat by six points, but Harris had an impressive follow-up outing with 27 points on 56 percent shooting.

The Sixers bounced back in Orlando against the Magic on Wednesday. Once again, Harris exceeded 20 points, producing 22, trailing only Tyrese Maxey on the team’s scoring leaderboard in the 112-92 victory.

.@sixers @tobias31 has scored at least 20 points in each of his last three games, dating back to Dec. 22.

It's his first such three-game streak since Nov. 25-28, 2022.

h/t @Stathead
— Sixers Stats (@SixersStats) December 28, 2023

Harris’s recent stretch is promising, especially considering he scored just 12 points in the two games leading up to his recent three-game stretch. However, there is still plenty of basketball left to be played, and he has a lot more to prove in his contract season.