Tobias Harris Discusses Sudden Losses of Joel Embiid, Seth Curry vs. Grizzlies

The Philadelphia 76ers anticipated having a healthy lineup on Monday night. As they faced the undermanned Memphis Grizzlies, the Sixers hoped to build off of

The Philadelphia 76ers anticipated having a healthy lineup on Monday night. As they faced the undermanned Memphis Grizzlies, the Sixers hoped to build off of their most impressive win of the year by snapping a nine-year losing streak in Memphis.

But sudden health concerns made it difficult for them to overcome the Grizzlies. Less than 30 minutes before the Sixers and the Grizzlies tipped off, starting shooting guard Seth Curry was ruled out.

According to a team official, Curry was dealing with shoulder soreness. As if the loss of Curry weren't enough, the Sixers went ahead and ruled out their superstar center Joel Embiid just minutes before the game started as he was reportedly dealing with rib soreness.

Losing two of your top scorers moments before a matchup would affect any team, but the Sixers couldn't recover from the losses quickly enough. The Grizzlies fired off 37 points against the Sixers right out of the gate.

By the time halftime rolled around, the Grizzlies were up 68-56 over the Philadelphia. Being down 12 points isn't a situation where a team should waive the white flag and look forward to the next matchup, but the Sixers didn't help themselves much when the third quarter rolled around as they were outscored 33-19.

"Obviously, it hurt us," said Tobias Harris in regards to the sudden absences of Embiid and Curry. "Two starters out of the lineup, it is a big scoring punch. With Joel Embiid, he has been our guy the offensive game flows through. For us, it was a tough adjustment, and you see that we looked a little bit lost out there, a bunch to start the third quarter. They are a good defensive team, and they take away a lot of things in the paint. We did not do a good enough job of executing, trying to pick them apart."

When the fourth quarter rolled around, it was clear the Sixers were down and out as only two starters logged minutes -- and neither of them were regulars. Finally, when it was all said and done, the Sixers wrapped up the night with another loss in Memphis as they fell short 126-91. Now, they'll hope to forget Monday's game and look forward to returning home to face the Miami Heat on Wednesday.

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