Tobias Harris having an off-night cost the 76ers big time
Heading into Game 5 of this series, Tobias Harris was averaging 21.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and was shooting 58.7% from the floor, but he had one of his worst performances all season long in Game 5, which was a terrible time for him to do so!
Harris finished Game 5 with just 4 points on 2-11 shooting from the floor and had the third-worst +/- differential on the team in this game at -10 in 38 minutes on the court. At some point in the second-half, maybe if just one more layup or one more jumper had gone in for Harris, then the Sixers may have been able to halt Atlanta’s momentum, but he just had an off-night.
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Unfortunately for the 76ers, this off-night played a monumental factor in their epic collapse. Harris is most definitely going to have a bounce-back game in Game 6 for the 76ers, but his performance in this one is definitely going to sting and could even linger over him for the rest of the series.
Over 80% of teams in NBA playoff history that win Game 5 of a series go on to win the entire series, so this was a pivotal game for both sides. This game was pretty much all locked up and won for the Sixers at halftime, and because they let their guard down, the Hawks attacked them every chance they got in the second-half and clawed their way back into this game, only to rip the 76ers’ hearts out from their chest and stomp on them at midcourt!
Tobias Harris needs to be better for the 76ers to avoid elimination and he definitely knows that. This was very bad timing for Harris to have an off-night like he did, but everybody has bad nights here and there! Hopefully for Philly’s sake, he can regroup and come out firing in Game 6 in Atlanta.
