The Philadelphia 76ers are a team led by the talented star duo of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, but there is another player in this starting lineup who gets a lot of money and is a guy who has to step up when the weather demands it. .
He would be Tobias Harris, the highest paid player on the team. He hadn’t produced at the level the team had hoped for in the past and the hope is that, under new coach Doc Rivers, he can return to the player he was with the Los Angeles Clippers.
On Saturday he had a fantastic night scoring 24 points in the 9-on-14 shootout and defeated four triples by beating the Charlotte Hornets 127-112 at home. He has continued his strong game so far as he has scored more than 20 points in three consecutive games.
“It’s been great,” Rivers said. “It simply came to our notice then. I think he had a play and actually scored on it, which I almost didn’t want him to do with the ISO he had until the end of the game, because that’s what we don’t really want, we like his fast action play . Make faster decisions. He knows where the boys are when he goes, so he has been deep in actions where we want him ”.
He was working hard on both ends of the ground as he also arrived with four steals and three blocks at the defensive end. This is an area in which he has constantly improved and worked during his time in Philadelphia and which his teammates have not gone unnoticed.
“When I see him doing that, it motivates everyone to keep doing their job,” said Simmons, who had his first triple-double of the season. “When Tobias came here defensively, he was not where he is now and he intensified it. Now he receives a lot of thefts, puts his hands in the lanes, blocks shots, has made a huge leap from last year until now, defensively ”.
Harris will be the X factor for this team this season. They already know what the two stars will bring, but Harris should be the third scorer for them. He must be the man who can step in and offer an offensive to help them thrive.
“On both sides of the ball offensively and defensively, it’s been incredible. It has been an incredible factor for our team and it will be if we want to win a championship “.
The Sixers will host the Hornets again Monday to complete the two-game home series.