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Sixers Could be Without Tobias Harris vs. Clippers on Friday

The Sixers could play Friday's game against the Clippers without Tobias Harris.
Sixers Could be Without Tobias Harris vs. Clippers on Friday
Sixers Could be Without Tobias Harris vs. Clippers on Friday

Exactly a week ago, Philadelphia 76ers veteran forward Tobias Harris started feeling some pain in his knee. During last Friday's game against the New Orleans Pelicans, Harris was spotted limping throughout the matchup.

Although he finished the night with a team-high of 23 points, Harris wasn't feeling one-hundred percent heading into the next matchup. The following night, the Sixers faced the Oklahoma City Thunder for the first time this season.

When Philly issued its first injury report, Harris appeared on it as questionable due to knee soreness. Although the 76ers wouldn't rule Harris out right away, they decided to rest him against the Thunder after he went through pregame warmups to test everything out.

After getting a night off in Oklahoma City, Harris was back on the court for Monday night's matchup against the Dallas Mavericks. Despite having a quiet night on offense, Harris contributed to a solid win over the Mavs. 

Then on Wednesday, it seemed he was getting back to being one-hundred percent. With the Brooklyn Nets in town, Tobias Harris had another standout performance as he put up 26 points in 34 minutes. However, his absence towards the end of the game as the 76ers were preventing a Brooklyn comeback was notable.

"He was limping around," said Sixers head coach Doc Rivers following Wednesday's game. "I felt we could win the game without him. You know, I didn't want to take a chance, and we did [kept him on the bench]. So, [the knee] was the reason."

Harris didn't shy away from talking about his minor setback or brush it off. Instead, the veteran admitted that his knee has been bothering him over the last few games, and Harris even considered himself to be day-to-day on Wednesday night.

"I've been having a little aching in my knee," Harris said after the win over the Nets. "That was kind of limiting me there in the fourth quarter. It's kind of a day-by-day thing to get myself as much rest and take proper care of my knee treatment-wise. Going into today's game, it was pretty much 50-50 if I was going to be able to go."

Heading into Friday night's game against the Los Angeles Clippers, Harris is officially once again 50-50 to go. On Wednesday, he wasn't even listed on the Sixers' injury report. On Friday, he's considered questionable with knee soreness. 

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


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Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Justin Grasso was a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s Philadelphia 76ers On SI Network. Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writers Association. Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoMedia Threads: @JGrassoMedia

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