Rivers’ Injury Update on Tobias Harris, PJ Tucker Isn’t Promising

Doc Rivers' initial injury update on Tobias Harris and PJ Tucker was concerning on Saturday.

Doc Rivers and the Philadelphia 76ers pulled off one of their best wins of the season on Saturday night as they snapped the Milwaukee Bucks’ 16-game win streak. 

Unfortunately, the big win comes with a price to pay.

During the first half of the Sixers’ victory, the veteran forward Tobias Harris started experiencing some calf soreness. He dealt with a similar problem during Philadelphia’s Monday night loss against the Miami Heat.

While Harris missed the final minutes of Monday’s game, he was back on the floor in the next two games against the Heat and the Dallas Mavericks. Harris played for a little over 13 minutes on Saturday before coming off the floor to get his calf checked out. 

When the Sixers started the second half, Harris was ruled out for the remainder of the game. Not long after Harris was ruled out, PJ Tucker found himself in a similar predicament.

Dealing with back spasms in the second half of the outing, Tucker went back to the locker room to get checked out. Leaving the court after a 19-minute shift, Tucker was also ruled out for the rest of Saturday night’s game in Milwaukee.

When Doc Rivers was asked about the status of the two veterans, his response didn’t sound promising.

Doc Rivers says Tobias Harris and PJ Tucker don’t look good in the locker room. He guesses they won’t be ready for Monday against the Pacers, but he just doesn’t know yet. #Sixers

— Ky Carlin (@Ky_Carlin) March 5, 2023

Rivers typically doesn’t receive detailed medical reports prior to his postgame press conference, so his initial reporting doesn’t guarantee much at this time.

But leaving the door open for a potential absence on Monday already is a bit concerning. While the Sixers proved they could handle business without Harris and Tucker on the floor in Milwaukee, that doesn’t mean their services would be missed.

At the start of the year, the Sixers had health concerns, which made it difficult for their starting five to find enough time to get their chemistry right. While they’ve been relatively healthy as of late, Doc Rivers made the decision to make a notable change recently, calling Maxey back up and sending De’Anthony Melton back down to the bench.

With the potential of Tucker and Harris missing time moving forward, that could put Philly in a tough spot as they want to master their starting five’s chemistry as best as they can before the playoff run.

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