Sixers' Doc Rivers Isn't Worried About Tobias Harris' Struggles

Tobias Harris' struggles were concerning on Wednesday, but Doc Rivers isn't stressing over it.

Ever since he signed the dotted line of a max contract, Philadelphia 76ers veteran forward Tobias Harris has felt the pressure to be great. Unfortunately, one season and one game into his max contract stint with the Sixers, Harris has not lived up to his salary quite yet.

On Wednesday night, Harris and the Sixers took the floor for the team's season-opener with a matchup against the Washington Wizards. It marked the start of Harris' second full season with the Sixers.

Last year, Harris was one of the Sixers' more consistent players, but he failed to live up to the max contract expectations under former 76ers head coach Brett Brown. With Doc Rivers in town now running the show, the Sixers were hopeful that Rivers could get Harris back to performing like he did when he was with the Los Angeles Clippers.

To do that, Rivers mentioned that he needs to see Harris do less to produce more. Last season, Rivers believed Harris dribbled around too much and did a lot of thinking on the floor when he should be able just to catch and shoot.

The veteran forward worked on making quicker decisions in training camp and the preseason this year, but he looked more like 2019 Tobias Harris on Wednesday. “He just missed shots,” Rivers said after the game. 

"I thought he was hesitant. I thought even that last drive when he made the free throws; I thought that should have been a dunk. We’ll watch the film, we’ll get him uncaged, he’ll be fine.”

In 31 minutes on the floor Wednesday night, Harris drained just three of his 13 field goal attempts for ten points. Harris also contributed to the Sixers' struggled from beyond the arc as he failed to knock down a single one of his four three-point attempts. 

The good news is, it's just one game. As expected, the Sixers looked rusty as a unit on Wednesday and didn't really turn up the offensive intensity until the fourth quarter, when they put up 40 points to close the game out. While Harris' constant struggles remain a concern, Rivers isn't too worried about it. He's confident Harris will hesitate less over time, which should help him become more effective.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_