Joel Embiid Downplays Tobias Harris' Frustration With Sixers Fans

Philadelphia 76ers players are no strangers to receiving criticism from their own fan base -- especially the star players. Guys like Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons

Philadelphia 76ers players are no strangers to receiving criticism from their own fan base -- especially the star players. Guys like Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons have taken on tons of heat from the fans at one or several points throughout their time donning a Sixers uniform.

Recently, Tobias Harris has been one of the most criticized Sixers by Philadelphia's fan base. While the negative attention from Sixers fans is nothing new to Harris, his recent struggles mixed with the lack of support from those watching him live have created a hostile situation.

On Monday night, the Sixers hosted the Houston Rockets at the Wells Fargo Center. Tobias Harris, who got off to a rough shooting start by going 3-10 from the field in the first half, caught some boos from attending fans.

Harris made a motion while on the court, acknowledging that he hears the boos and encourages fans to keep it up. At halftime, Sixers' temporary head coach Dan Burke mentioned that the team had a conversation with Harris regarding his motion. 

"We talked about it at halftime," Burke said on Monday night. "We ran the first play at half for him." While Harris had a better showing in the second half, he never got over being frustrated with the crowd's reaction. After hitting a tough shot, he seemingly told the crowd not to clap for him in support after sending boos his way earlier.

Harris never addressed the situation after the game as he wasn't one of the few players available to reporters. However, his star teammate Joel Embiid downplayed the back and forth while acknowledging Harris' struggles on the night.

"I thought it was nothing," Embiid claimed. "He didn't make shots today, but I thought he contributed when he was on the floor. Plus or minus is a floor stat, but you looked at when he was on the floor, he did a great job. Whether it was getting guys open or defensively, I thought he was pretty good."

Embiid's been in Harris' shoes before. Two seasons ago, during a rough patch of games, Embiid caught some boos of his own. After making a shot, he turned around and shushed the Wells Fargo Center crowd, which riled up the fan base for a few games.

"It happens to the best of us," Embiid said in regards to Harris' frustration. "[It was a] frustrating night. It's hard when you're not making shots. I thought he's been fine. He's gonna be better. I have a lot of faith in them."

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