Getty Tobias Harris and Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers
Tobias Harris put up his best performance scoring-wise in weeks when the Philadelphia 76ers took on the Charlotte Hornets, as his 18 points against the Hornets are the highest he’s scored since his 18-point performance on March 1 against the Miami Heat. Among those who spoke highly of Harris after the game was Joel Embiid.
“Tobias was good,” Embiid told reporters, per Ky Carlin of Sixers Wire. “It seems like he’s getting back to himself. We’re going to need that every game. The ball moved pretty well. Everybody touched it. Then defensively, we were all in sync.”
Harris also talked about his performance, talking about how he took advantage of the opportunities that were presented to him during the game.
“I was just taking advantage of the opportunity,” Harris told NBC Sports Philadelphia after the game, as transcribed by Carlin. “I thought we did a great job defensively of creating stops and getting out in transition and I was able to find some good looks, easy looks, and be aggressive, and take advantage of it.”
Before the Hornets game, Harris was averaging 9.6 points and 5.7 rebounds while shooting 41.1% from the field and 33.3% from three in the month of March.
Tobias Harris Name-Drops Joel Embiid in Rant
In an interview with Carlin on March, Harris talked about how frustrated he gets at the lack of calls he draws on offense, adding how often teammates Embiid and James Harden get those calls.
“It’s kinda like Jo gets to the free-throw line a lot, drawing fouls,” Harris told Carlin. “So does James, so there are opportunities, but I think it does happen, but in the grand scheme of things, they can’t call a foul on every possession down. I think that could be one of the reasons. Not just myself, too, but other guys as well, so it’s tough.”
Harris admitted that part of the issue is that he’s not very good at demonstrating that he’s been fouled.
“This has always been a thing in my career because I am bigger than a lot of guys,” he added. “I’m not the greatest flopper or seller of calls because, probably to my own default, but I’ve never been one to sell fouls and (expletive), so that’s another key to it.”
Tobias Harris Praises P.J. Tucker
In a separate interview with Carlin on March 4, Harris defended teammate P.J. Tucker, who he believes doesn’t score much because there’s not much opportunity for him to score.
“When anybody talks about the points scored is an idiot just because there isn’t much opportunity for him to go out and average eight or nine points. The man shoots the ball two times a game, so that’s a (expletive) claim.,” Harris said.
Harris added that Tucker’s reputation as a winner should serve the Sixers well in the playoffs.
“He’s a guy who’s a winner, and every big game we’re in, those big teams and games that we play that felt like playoff environments, he’s out there making an impact. That’s where his game shines the most and also, just him being a vocal guy on this team, a leader, he’s the anchor to our defense, he can guard 1 through 5, he sacrifices offensively.”