After the Philadelphia 76ers lost to the Golden State Warriors on March 24, Sixers starter Tobias Harris talked about how the Sixers can’t afford to lose games in the way they did because of how the Warriors can exploit that.
“That’s the type of game,” Harris told reporters, per Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer, “that the margin of error is so slim. There can’t be any mistakes, the way that [the Warriors] get shots up and flow offensively.”
According to Mizell, Harris talked about how hard it was to guard Warriors star Klay Thompson, and that while guarding him, “it’s dang near almost a box-and-1, just because of how much they move.”
The Sixers had a nine-point lead going into the fourth quarter, only to lose by eight. Harris did his part for the Sixers, putting up 23 points on 10-for-12 shooting from the field, but it wasn’t enough to beat the reigning champions, who, despite being 39-36 this season, are 30-7 at home.
Losing to the Warriors also snapped a seven-game winning streak on the road, who last lost away from home against the Dallas Mavericks on March 2.
Tobias Harris Sounds Off on Role With Sixers
Before the Sixers took on the Warriors, Harris talked about his role as the fourth option on the Sixers behind Joel Embiid, James Harden, and Tyrese Maxey.
“It’s just staying patient in the flow of everything,” Harris said, per Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “There’s going to be nights where the ball finds me more than others. There’s going to be nights where [it doesn’t.]
“Really, I just have to be OK with that, and just really do other things on the floor and do things that’s going to help the team win, and stay ready and stay patient.”
Harris added that the team as a whole is simply trying to understand one another and how they can thrive together.
“We as a whole group, we are figuring out ways to be at our best,” Harris said. “That’s encouraging for guys and really for the whole group to understand that we need each other to get this done, and we’re at our best when everybody is feeling good and in rhythm and in flow. So I think that increases and helps the vibe of it. We just need more of it.”
Draymond Green Reveals Exchange With Joel Embiid
During his postgame press conference, Warriors star Draymond Green revealed an exchange he and Embiid had after the game.
“A guy like that. You never really want to give him a steady diet of anything because they just figure it out. He told me, ‘You know why I played like that tonight? You said (Nikola) Jokic was the hardest person to guard in the league, so I took that personal.’ So I don’t want to tell y’all that Joel’s the hardest guy to guard,” Green said smiling, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic.
Joel Embiid had 46 points against Warriors tonight.
Draymond Green: “He said, ‘You know why I played like that tonight? You said Joker was the hardest person to guard in the league. I took that personal.’”
Green has said that he believes Embiid is the frontrunner for MVP on his podcast.
“Right now in the MVP race, I think it’s Joel,” Green said. “I think it’s Joel’s award to lose. I think the way he loses that award is his team starts losing. Joel’s going to put up Joel numbers, Joel going to do what Joel has been doing. It’s Joel’s award to lose.”
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Tobias Harris Puts Short-Handed Sixers on Notice After Warriors Snap Streak