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It was a disappointing trip to Houston for the Philadelphia 76ers as they suffered a 132-123 loss to the Rockets in double overtime. James Harden’s homecoming was spoiled by the youthful Rockets roster who competed much harder on the glass and outrebounded the Sixers 51-39 overall. However, it was not all bad as there was a touching reunion between Tobias Harris and Boban Marjanović before tip-off. The two have been long-time friends dating back to their time with the Detroit Pistons together. Since this time they have spent time on the Clippers and Sixers together as well as making their debuts on TV screens across the country. The duo linked up for a heartwarming embrace before the game which has made its way across social media and made fans everywhere crack a smile
Origin of the ‘Bobi and Tobi’ Friendship
Back in June of 2021, Marjanović joined the ‘Old Man and the Three’ Podcast with JJ Redick to talk about his relationship with Harris. Redick and Marjanović also played together on the Sixers during the 2018-19 season. The big man told the story of not getting along with Harris right away stemming from him not passing the ball during one of their first pickup sessions. As Marjanović put it, “We was in the locker room changing clothes and I was like ‘Tobias, I don’t like you.’ and he looked at me like ‘Huh?’ and I think this is the time that our friendship started.”
Since this time the two have had a blossoming friendship that includes being traded together on two separate occasions. They were first traded from the Pistons to the Clippers in 2018 as well as being shipped to the Sixers together about a year later. The duo has had some hilarious moments such as Harris teaching the big man how to dance and of course the famous Goldfish commercial.
Harris’ On-Court Play
While Marjanović may not have gotten any time on the court during the matchup with the Sixers, Harris shined in his role. The 30-year-old finished the matchup second on the Sixers in scoring with 27 points along with four rebounds, three steals, an assist, and a block. Harris shot 9-15 from the field overall and was an impressive 7-8 from beyond the three-point arc. These seven three-pointers tied Harris’ career-high in a game.
Harris also led the team in minutes with 46 throughout the four quarters and two overtime minutes. His growth as a catch-and-shooter this season has been impressive and vital to the direction the team is attempting to go. Through the first 22 games he has played in he is attempting 4.9 catch-and-shoot attempts and has a field-goal percentage of 40.2% and an effective field-goal percentage of 59.3% on these attempts. Following the loss, Harris mentioned the lack of time together as a group as a reason for the team’s struggles.
As he put it, “When those guys are out for that period of time, and now back, it’s always been a thing for our whole group is figuring out the chemistry. When you talk earlier, we’ve only had six games as a whole group together, but even in those six games, we’re still trying to figure it out. So it’s gonna take time as well, but we still have enough talent and enough depth on this team to be able to, in the midst of gaining chemistry, to figure out ways to lock in and get wins,” per Ky Carlin of SixersWire.
It is unfortunate his best friend is no longer sharing the locker room with him, but Harris will continue to play a key role on the Sixers moving forward. Hopefully, the loss to the Rockets serves as a wake-up call to the team and they can get on the same page moving forward.
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