Comparing the Sixers’ downside to a season before
By Kunal Chawda
Tobias Harris needs to live up to his status
When we look at the Philadelphia 76ers roster, James Harden is a veteran leader in the team, followed by Tobias Harris and PJ Tucker. While James Harden looks better this season for the Sixers franchise, PJ Tucker struggles to balance offense and defense in the given game-time. Harden performed well offensively and is 2nd best scorer for the team behind Embiid. Harden even carried the team without JoJo with a great offensive display. Maxey has been a great help for him, with the bench providing much-needed upgrades with this term. The only missing name in these glittering results is Tobias Harris.
The 11-year veteran has been with the franchise for more than four seasons and is the team’s highest earner. But his output could be more encouraging, given his position as one of the leaders in the team. In the mid-season grading, Harris has a disappointing C+ grade, the lowest among the starters at the Sixers. The All-Star caliber player is averaging below fifteen points this season, his second-lowest since his sophomore year. Harris only scored 20 or more points in 15 games, whereas he had 12 games with a single-digit score.
It is not that Harris is less effective shooting-wise, but he needs to get more aggressive to share the offensive load more than ever. The 30-year-old forward is the fourth top scorer and third top rebounder this year, a rank below expected.
Keeping the positives intact and working on above mentioned pitfalls would be a great boost for the Sixers’ postseason ambitions. Nearly half of the roster is eligible for free agency next summer, and this would be the best chance, more than last year, for the Sixers to win the championship.
