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Nobody Really Wins in Tobias Harris vs. 76ers Fans Discourse
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If you didn’t see over the holiday weekend everyone’s favorite former max-contract 76er Tobias Harris got a little snippy with the hometown crowd during Saturday’s 116-93 defeat of the Sixers.
Harris, who now gets to enjoy the tail-end of his basketball career as a true third banana with the number-one seed Detroit Pistons, chirped the thousands in attendance at the Xfinity Mobile Arena, urging all of us to “get ready for the fucking play in” after being booed each and every time he touched the ball in South Philadelphia.
I mean, okay! Sure! Would have enjoyed seeing an ounce of this passion out of Harris while he actually played in Philadelphia rather than putting up the softest 17-6-3 stat line over six seasons I’ve ever seen. But honestly, he got the last laugh, scoring 19 in Saturday’s win over a Sixers team that has not had the services of Joel Embiid for the last several games due to an illness.
Anyone who suffered through the Tobias Harris era of basketball in Philadelphia knows the twists and turns of his career. Never living up to a max contract, Jimmy Butler calling out the 76ers for choosing Tobias over him (even if that really wasn’t all that true), the important games where he would be completely invisible when the team needed him the most…it just never worked out in Philadelphia. He was never a bad guy, always showed up to play, never publicly complained about his role, but also never really did MUCH when it ever really counted.
Was it his fault the 76ers gave him a max contract when the front office panicked after the Butler fallout? Not really, anyone would have taken that contract. Is it the fans fault that they were frustrated with him as a player when he never truly seemed to EVER rise to the occasion when it truly mattered? Not really, any fanbase would be frustrated with that type of player.
There’s no real winner in any of this discourse. Was he the main reason the 76ers crashed and burned through Embiid’s prime? Nah, it’s disingenuous to think he was. Did he do his fair share to ensure the 76ers did everything in their power to actually get over the hump? HELL NO. Look no further than his final game with the 76ers, putting up 0 points (with just TWO SHOT ATTEMPTS) in 29 minutes against the Knicks in game six of the playoffs, a 118-115 defeat which saw Philadelphia ousted yet again from the postseason.
He averaged nine points a game in that series. NOT TOO GREAT.
There were far too many of “those” games in Harris’s career with the 76ers. Zero points in an elimination game is an abomination, but just the two attempted shots really stand out. Being ineffective is one thing, being invisible is even worse when you’re making that much money.
So whatever. Talk your shit if it makes you feel better, but understand that yeah, the boos were probably deserved. You never did much in Philadelphia, never really gave the fans much of a reason to cheer your return, but if it makes you feel any better you certainly weren’t the main reason for the team’s failures when you were here.
But you certainly didn’t do too much to make sure the team succeeded.
I have no merits or accomplishments worth noting. Founder of Philadelphia's most trusted sports blog, The Coggin Toboggan. Can I just take a minute of your time to share the good word about our lord and savior Jesus Christ?