76ers’ Montrezl Harrell Discusses Evolution of Tobias Harris

Montrezl Harrell isn't surprised by Tobias Harris's recent success on the 76ers.

The public perception of Tobias Harris’s time with the Philadelphia 76ers has changed a lot over the years. While Harris has certainly had his high points in Philadelphia, there have also been some notable lows as well.

Lately, Harris has earned a lot of praise for his play. After returning from a two-game absence in late November, Harris helped the Sixers through a tough time as key stars such as James Harden, Joel Embiid, and Tyrese Maxey were recovering from injuries.

During a four-game stretch without Embiid, Harris averaged 23 points while knocking down 51 percent of his shots. While Harris went down the Sixers’ scoring pecking order as Embiid and Harden eventually returned, the veteran forward maintained consistent production despite seeing his role minimize.

Since the return of Harden, Harris averaged 39 minutes on the floor over five games. During that time, the veteran produced 20 points per game while knocking down 55 percent of his threes. Montrezl Harrell, who played with the Los Angeles Clippers version of Harris, and now the Sixer version of the veteran, noted what’s helped Harris find success lately. 

“He works on his game in the summer with all of the different things he feels like he needs to add to his game on both ends and improve on his game,” said Harrell. “That’s what he does. I’ve seen him in LA a couple of times working out. We played pickup a couple of times working out there. He stays in the gym, stays working out, stays treating his body right on and off the court. He gets his rest in, he gets his preparation, he gets his recovery in and is always eating the right way. He’s probably one of the ones on this team that has the best diet, honestly, if you look around. He does all the little things he needs to do to stay healthy, ready for games, and being a pro.”

In addition to Harris’ production, Harrell credited the veteran for being a great teammate as well.

“He’s a great leader in general, man,” said Harrell. “He’s a veteran. He gets his work done, and he’s one of those guys that’s been improving every one of those years in the league, man. You look at his whole track record, I’m not surprised at the way he came out and shot the ball. He was dealing with some back issues the other night, and he came up refreshed and ready to go for tonight.”

Harris earned a lot of praise from coaches, teammates, and fans after putting together his most efficient shooting night of the year against the Raptors on Monday night. In 42 minutes, Harris drained 78 percent of his shots, scoring 21 points as he hit on five three-pointers for the second time this year.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.