Philadelphia 76ers: With Embiid and Simmons out, it’s Tobias Harris time

The Philadelphia 76ers are fighting for better seeding in the playoffs, but with their best two players out, they have to turn their hopes to Tobias Harris.

Injuries can kill a season, just ask the Philadelphia Eagles. Now that the Philadelphia 76ers best two players are out, it looks like they have to turn to their third option.

Tobias Harris signed a five-year $180 million deal this summer in free agency. Getting rid of Jimmy Butler was okay due to the fact that they were able to sign Harris.

Now with Embiid and Simmons out, the Sixers will have to turn to Harris to keep this team afloat. The Sixers have two tough games against the LA Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers and they’re in prime position to take the fourth spot from the Miami Heat.

More from Philadelphia 76ers

• 3 Reasons the 76ers Should Poach Blake Griffin From the Celtics
• 3 Most Overpaid 76ers Heading Into the 2023 Season
• Ranking Daryl Morey’s 3 Biggest Mistakes with 76ers
• 3 Teams Crazy Enough to Trade for James Harden
• James Harden Putting Career in Jeopardy With Holdout Threat

The injuries to Embiid and Simmons couldn’t have come at a worst time. The first test of the dynamic duo-less Sixers was the New York Knicks. They were able to pass that test by Harris dropping 34 points in the win.

Now at a crucial time, they’ll need an All-Star caliber effort from Harris in these next upcoming games. The best players in the league right now are small forwards. Players like Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, and Kawhi Leonard are some of those players.

Harris is not of that caliber, but he has shown an ability to put up big numbers and dominate games. As the focal point of an offense, he should be able to put up big numbers like in the game against the Knicks.

Harris has the ability to create his own shot and he shoots efficiently. He shoots 47.1 percent from the field and a respectable 36.3 percent from three.

He also has a sweet mid-range game. In terms of two pointers, he shoots 51.3 percent for his career. The fourth quarter is when he shoots the best. The fourth is tied with the first quarter of Harris’ best shooting quarter field goal wise.

He shoots 48.3 percent in the fourth and 56.6 percent of his shots are assisted. The Philadelphia 76ers have been searching for a closer and that can be Tobias Harris. Harris has the ability to create mid-range looks in the fourth that could help the Sixers in games down the line.

This season his usage rate is 23.0 which is the most since 2017-18 when he played with the Detroit Pistons and the Clippers.

Harris will have to get adjusted to being used more than ever now with him being the number one option on the team.