Tobias Harris Addresses Latest Battle After Loss vs. Grizzlies

How's Tobias Harris feeling after leaving Wednesday's game early with an illness?

Tobias Harris felt under the weather going into the Philadelphia 76ers’ Wednesday night matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers. As the veteran forward struggled to make an impact in a blowout game in favor of the opponent, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers decided to give Harris the rest of the night off after he spent four minutes on the court in the third quarter.

“He kind of didn’t want to say anything,” Rivers said after Wednesday night’s game. “I found out in the middle of the game. So, right when I found out, I took him out and told him to go back. We weren’t going to win the game, why have him on the floor?”

The Sixers came up short of the Cavaliers. Going into their Friday night matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies, Harris was added to the injury report. According to the Sixers, the forward was questionable with a non-COVID illness. 

With the day off on Thursday, Harris had an opportunity to rest, which is something he took advantage of.

“I was just resting,” Harris said on Friday night. “[On Thursday] I was nearly asleep all day. My body was recovering, and I was in a game in Cleveland, at one point, I was just like, ‘I don’t have enough energy to play at this type of level.’”

Harris's lack of energy was evident in his numbers. As he went 0-7 from the field, it was clear that he wasn’t feeling anywhere close to one-hundred percent in Cleveland. That was still the case on Friday as the Grizzlies matchup approached. Harris took the morning off and continued resting during his team’s shootaround but managed to make it out on the floor with the starting five for game time on Friday. 

“Obviously, I’m still battling a cold,” he explained. “It was tougher out there, but like I always say, if I’m healthy and could walk and be able to give some type of effort out there, I’m going to go do it.”

Harris looked much better on Friday night. In 38 minutes of action, the veteran knocked down seven of his 14 shots, draining five of his six shot attempts from beyond the arc. He wrapped up the night with 21 points and 11 rebounds in the eight-point loss to Memphis.

With two days off between games, Harris should be good to play when the Sixers pay a visit to the Houston Rockets on Monday night. While the team could have a reinforcement back, with James Harden potentially on pace to return, the Sixers need Harris to continue thriving as well. 

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