Philadelphia 76ers fans shouldn’t be overreacting to Tobias Harris’ bad game.
There’s were a lot of takeaways from the Philadelphia 76ers‘ season opener against the Washington Wizards. There are good and bad parts from it, but one thing became clear from last night. Sixers fans overreacted to the poor performance by Tobias Harris.
Don’t get me wrong, it surely wasn’t one of his shining moments. Harris finished the game with 10 points, eight rebounds, one block, two turnovers, and four turnovers. The shooting was even worse than his general state line. He shot 3-13 from the field and 0-4 from the 3-point line.
As one can guess, Sixers fans on Twitter weren’t very kind to Harris because of his poor performance. There were a variety of bad reactions and below are three examples of that variety.
The Sixers could’ve signed Bojan Bogdanovic, Christian Wood and Wesley Matthews for the combined price as Tobias Harris
— Jackson Frank (@jackfrank_jjf) December 24, 2020
Jackson Frank was probably the kindest one of the three examples.
watching Tobias Harris play basketball pic.twitter.com/6JUxnW32S1
— Big Oil (@LargePetroleum) December 24, 2020
Big Oil was less sensitive but wasn’t straight up rude either.
Brian Jacobs of The Painted Line didn’t hold anything back any his feelings regarding Harris’ performance.
Why Harris’ bad night for the Sixers is being overblown out of proportion.
Now it’s not unusual that for any player to have an off night, especially to begin the season. However, Harris has unfair expectations ever since he was acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers.
More from The Sixer Sense
- 3 Sixers players who could help Team USA Basketball
- 76ers 2k24 ratings: 3 most underrated players on Philadelphia roster
- 76ers head coach Nick Nurse bares lofty plans for Paul Reed this season
- Grade the Trade: 76ers swap Tobias Harris for superstar PG in mock deal
- Sixers Podcast: Danny Green returns + James Harden bombshell
Harris, along with Mike Scott and Boban Marjanovic, were acquired fro two first and two second round picks, along with young sharpshooter Landry Shamet, stretch big Mike Muscala, and combo forward Wilson Chandler. On top of that, the 76ers re-signed Harris the following offseason for $180 million over five seasons.
Which all would be fine if Harris was at least an All-Star, but he hasn’t performed like one yet. With the Sixers, he’s averaged 19.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.1 assists, while making 35.3 percent of his 3-pointers.
He’s underperformed his contractual expectations up to this point and that game only made that perception worse. However, fans need to remember that it’s not his fault the Sixers gave up what they did to acquire him or pay them what he was paid. If they should be mad with anyone its general manager Elton Brand.
Harris can play near an All-Star level and Philadelphia 76ers’ fans shouldn’t overreact to one bad performance. Every player has at least one bad night. The front office’s mistakes surrounding him shouldn’t make fans overact towards him whenever he struggles.