Doc Rivers Confident Tobias Harris Will Get Back to His Best Self After Loss to Nets

The Philadelphia 76ers have been inconsistent lately, and a lot of that has to do with their key players' struggles. Although Philadelphia's star center Joel

The Philadelphia 76ers have been inconsistent lately, and a lot of that has to do with their key players' struggles. Although Philadelphia's star center Joel Embiid has taken over for the Sixers and won them a few games practically on his own, he's also had some off nights. Then, Sixers starting guard Seth Curry has been quite the scorer this year too, but he's gone quiet when his team has needed him at times as well.

Then, there's Tobias Harris. Last season, Harris was a borderline All-Star. When he didn't get enough votes to crack the big game, Harris' name was involved in a lot of debates as many believed he should've been named an All-Star for the first time in his career last year.

But this year, there's no debate. As the Sixers are 30 games into the 2021-2022 NBA season, Harris isn't in the All-Star conversation. Granted, the veteran forward battled through a case of COVID-19 and admitted it's been an uphill battle getting back to who he was before the virus, but even before testing positive, Harris didn't look like himself on the court this year.

76ers head coach Doc Rivers believes a lot of Harris' struggles can be attributed to two things. One, he's struggled to find a groove because of the time he's been missing. Harris has missed games on several occasions this year, whether it's COVID, a physical setback, or another illness.

Then two, Harris went away from his quick decision-making. Last season, when Doc Rivers joined the Sixers, he made it clear that he wanted the veteran forward to make quicker decisions on the court. And rather than putting the ball on the floor, he wanted Harris to simply be a catch-and-shoot guy.

Rivers' plans for Harris worked last season. However, Harris has gone away from that at times this year. On Wednesday against the Miami Heat, Harris showed glimpses of the guy he was last year as he knocked down 50-percent of his shots for 24 points.

During the next night's game against the Brooklyn Nets, he struggled to follow up with another stellar performance during the Sixers' disappointing loss to the short-handed Brooklyn Nets on the road.

"I thought he rushed a couple," said Rivers after Thursday night's game. "He had a great open three, which would have put us up one in the corner. That was a big one. Those I don't ever worry about. He'll make more of those than he misses, but we did take a couple of tough shots tonight, too. I thought last night he did a good job overall getting back to the quick decision game. I thought it was in spurts tonight."

In Brooklyn on Thursday, Harris drained just three of his 17 shots from the field. From beyond the arc, he missed all five of his attempts. With three baskets made and five free throws accounted for, Harris wrapped up Thursday's game with 11 points. It wasn't a promising follow-up performance to a solid showing the previous night, but Rivers believes Harris will get back on track soon enough.

"Early on, he did it [making quick decisions]. Then he went into the iso stage, then he went back to the quick decision basketball. He's so good when he stays there and not to that other thing," Rivers finished. "We'll get him there."

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