Oftentimes this season, the Philadelphia 76ers must play without one or two of their top stars in Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. Saturday night, it was one of those situations for the Sixers as they face the Kings of Sacramento.
As expected, Embiid missed the matchup with a boiled knee. On a more surprising note, Ben Simmons was released an hour before he was sent off for dealing with a knee injury. While teams can usually fall apart when they miss two of their All-Stars, Tobias Harris, a former Sixers soldier, refuses to let his team go without a fight while and he is healthy and on the floor.
“It’s about our mind, energy, and focus,” Harris explained Saturday night. “Are we willing to get into people’s attention, ‘Hey, we don’t have the tallest dogs?’ are we willing to accept it?
“For myself, I personally take that stuff when people believe we can’t win without those guys because I know what our talent as an organization is, and I know how well we play when everyone is strong and healthy, and I know how well we play together as a team because we have a culture and a system that works. ”
Despite losing three out of five starts Saturday, the 76ers missed a beat. Just out of the gate, they put up 42 points in the first quarter and packed on another 31 in the second quarter, going into half-time with a 21-point lead while on the abbreviation.
By the time the fourth quarter was over, the Sixers could begin clearing their bench before a 129-105 victory over Sacramento. Harris, who came into the game, certainly did not get ready to fill the gap of the required stars. In 30 minutes of action, Harris scored 12 of his 18 hits for 29 points. He also had 11 rebounds and dropped just two assists without a triple build.
“When we trust and do what we are asked to do, we are like hell of a team,” Harris continued. “Just following that and the energy of the game is crucial to success when nothing happens. This is a strange season – you have to be willing to accept some of the roadblocks throughout the season. “
It’s not always beautiful when the 76ers miss some of their top players, but lately, they’ve changed quite a bit. Since the start of the second half of the season, Philly has not had Joel Embiid for five out of six games. Saturday night marked the third time in six games that Simmons was unavailable. Luckily for the Sixers, they are 5-1 through that range as they head into New York for their next game Sunday.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_ & Instagram: @JGrassoNBA.