Tobias Harris became defiant with Philadelphia 76ers fans on Monday night after being unhappy with the treatment he received from them.
Harris had 14 points, six rebounds and six assists in his team’s 133-112 win over the Houston Rockets. Harris did not shoot the ball well to begin the game and went 6/15 overall, missing all three of his 3-point attempts.
Harris went 3/10 in the first half and heard boos from the home fans after missing his last shot of the half.
Um, Tobias Harris just heard some loud boos after the last missed shot of a 3-10 half and, at least as it seemed to me, gestured to to the fans that he wanted to hear more. That was odd.
— Rich Hofmann (@rich_hofmann) January 4, 2022
Video was shared on postgame show: https://t.co/biTwdUDsAy pic.twitter.com/OWXwDvFzt6
— Kevin Kinkead (@Kevin_Kinkead) January 4, 2022
So after making a shot in the fourth quarter and receiving applause, Harris could be seen telling the fans “don’t clap.”
Tobias w a lil grown man bucket followed by what looks like,
“Don’t f***ing clap. Don’t f***ing clap.” pic.twitter.com/RfR72I1jYw
— Brock Knows Ball (@LandesBrock) January 4, 2022
Joel Embiid, who had a triple-double, said it was all done in fun between the two parties.
Joel Embiid on Tobias vs. the fans: "Two years ago I did the same thing so it’s whatever. Fans are gonna be fans… That's Philly, I love it. Like I always say, if you give it you gotta be able to take it too… It's all fun, nothing special." pic.twitter.com/EVzj3AvDRB
— Rich Hofmann (@rich_hofmann) January 4, 2022
Sixers acting coach Dan Burke says they talked with Harris at halftime about trying to block out the noise.
Dan Burke said that they talked about Tobias Harris’ frustration with the crowd at halftime, emphasized blocking out outside noise: “He presses so hard on himself, he has to understand Doc has so much confidence in him. We all do.” pic.twitter.com/XKbWdv8fWa
— Rich Hofmann (@rich_hofmann) January 4, 2022
The Sixers gave Harris a five-year, $180 million contract in July 2019. Many Sixers fans felt at the time that the team picked the wrong player to keep and the wrong one to let go. Harris has some big expectations from the fans and is not living up to them, which plays a part in this sort of treatment.
