Tobias Harris Has Funny Response Explaining 76ers' Road Success

During Tobias Harris’s first full season with the Philadelphia 76ers, the team struggled a lot on the road. As good as their home record was at 31-4, the Sixers held a lousy road record of 12-26, which was the worst of any other playoff team in the Eastern Conference.

When the team switched coaching staffs the following season, one of the main goals for Doc Rivers and his staff was to get the Sixers on track to becoming one of the NBA’s better road teams. This year, the Sixers have figured it out.

After another dominant win against the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night away from home, the Sixers collected their 21st victory on the road this year. With a 21-12 road record, they have the fourth-best record away from home in the Eastern Conference, which is significantly better than how they ended in 2019-2020.

Asked about the dramatic change in success on the road after Friday’s game, Tobias Harris summed it up to one thing: “You know, just going to bed at eight o’clock at night,” he joked.

“Nah, I’m just playing.”

All jokes aside, the Sixers have just matured a lot since Harris’s earlier days on the Sixers. Not only do they have more experience on the coaching staff and on the roster, but they enter each regular season matchup with the thought of preparing for the playoffs on their minds.

“Every game is a game that creates some flow, creates some energy, gets your body right, continue to put in work on the off days and just be ready to have that rhythm come playoffs,” Harris continued, on a serious note.

“That's what it's about right now. For myself, for the whole group, staying healthy is important Obviously, our rest is important, but in games like this, where we can come out and play three quarters and sit in the fourth, that helps us out as well. With this late end of the schedule, we have a lot of games in a short period of time, but we just got to stay ready and continue to work on our stuff.”

With just 13 games left to go in the season, the Sixers are hitting their stride as a team. Being able to find success on the road consistently checks off another box of accomplishments as the playoffs approach. Now, staying healthy is the biggest key as the regular season winds down.

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

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