Tobias Harris Giving 76ers All He Can Despite Recent Setback

After an in-game injury on Tuesday, Tobias Harris battled through soreness against the Celtics on Wednesday.

Approaching Wednesday night’s matchup between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Boston Celtics, Sixers forward Tobias Harris was one of a handful of players on Philadelphia’s injury report.

Dealing with neck soreness following a Tuesday night loss against the Indiana Pacers, Harris was probable to play in the rivalry rematch with Boston. A couple of hours before the matchup, Harris was suited up and sitting at his locker, cleared and ready for action following a familiar blueprint as in past seasons.

“Over the course of my career, I always plan to play [despite injuries]. That’s always my mindset and my mind frame,” Harris said nearly a year ago after playing through hip soreness and suffering an ankle injury and returning to the court to help his team close out a late November matchup against the Brooklyn Nets while shorthanded. “…My mindset is to be out there.”

76ers’ first-year head coach Nick Nurse admired Harris’s willingness not only to return to Tuesday’s game after a player landed on his head, causing him to enter the NBA’s concussion protocol and experience pain in his neck but to put the pain aside and join his shorthanded team on Wednesday less than 24 hours after wrapping up Tuesday’s matchup. 

“I talked to him earlier today. I was checking in on him, and he said, ‘Yeah, I’m a little sore, but I’m gonna be ready to go… I’m good to go.’ I think his toughness, he’s been though a lot of of stuff,” Nurse explained before Wednesday’s game. “Even last night, he played with a little bit of a cold. He’s just like, ‘I’ve been through this a lot, and I know how to kind of manage through some of this stuff.’ He wants to be out there and wants to play. He’s showing some toughness and some resiliency, and some veteran presence.”

Despite dealing with a setback, Harris looked to maintain the same aggressiveness he’d been playing with all year long. In his first seven minutes of action, Harris knocked down two of his three shots, scoring five points. In the second quarter, he was a perfect 3-3 from the field, producing seven more points along with two assists on the offensive end.

The Sixers were down big early, trailing as many as 17 points. By halftime, they were out in front 58-57, and Harris put together an efficient showing, scoring 12 points by making all but one of his shots. Unfortunately, Harris had a quiet second half. And the Sixers’ overall struggles contributed to their first back-to-back losses as they fell short 117-107 versus the Celtics.

“Coming off of yesterday’s game, this was an important one to try and get the W on,” Harris told All76ers after the matchup. “It didn’t go our way, so it’s a tough one.”

Harris admittedly felt “not great” after the game. Describing his setback as something that “feels like whiplash,” Harris understandably didn’t feel close to the best version of himself. 

Yet, he doesn’t want his personal performance in a game where the 76ers felt they came up short as a collective to be excused as a result of his physical limitations due to the injury.

“I’m just trying to give whatever I got out there,” he added. “Definitely not 100 percent or close to it. … Tough to move, but when I’m out on the court, there’s no excuses when I’m out there. If I can contribute anything, that’s all that really matters.” 

The Sixers got the day off on Thursday and will return to the court on the road to face the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night for their third In-Season Tournament matchup. As of Thursday night, Harris is on pace to play in the battle against the Hawks.