As Tobias Harris ends his Sixers tenure on a zero-point effort in a home elimination game, MOC offers a heartfelt farewell to his second-least-favorite Sixer ever.
By far the single biggest reason for the Sixers failures over the last 5.5 season. It's not just that he wasn't really even a good player in the context of the current NBA game, but his salary obliterated any chance to coherently team build. Also, I'm not really sure how someone who had been traded so often prior to getting to the Sixers was viewed as player to lock down for 5 years?
That felt good to read... it must have felt great to write! My Grandmother often stressed ended on a positive note - so here it goes: Tobi and Bobi made my kid smile.
Ouch. I think you went a bit overboard but as a former scout I'm sure you know more than I do. I disagree with many sentiments toward the end. You really should write this about Elton brand, Brett brown, and the other higher ups. They should have told tobias be a role player and that's all but bc he was given 180 million nobody would say it.
I feel like I need a Tobi tribute video both with good moments (i.e. - game winner vs LAL in Jan '21, bullying a smaller player in the post during the 1st qtr, etc.) sprinklered in with some of the bad (i.e. - making bad decisions with the ball, incorrect defensive reads, wing jumpers which miss the rim and hit the other side of the board, etc.) .
For me, Tobi will be remembered by his ability to ice his own team in big games. Those times when he finally bullies his way to the basket on a much smaller defender only to miss the layup, retrieve the rebound and miss the next layup. Or the transition three after someone other than him creates a huge turnover, for him to be on his spot and brick it. He was a man that coward in fear if an alpha was on the court. Even if his salary was free, he’s not a player you will win with
I agree with you 100%.. I can only dream how successful we would hve been the last 5 years, if we would have had anybody but Tobias Harris.. He is not even a bench player.. Him and Ben Simmons are the main two reasons the sixers lost in the playoffs, they never ever stepped up only done and they only made a difference in losing never winning.. I felt bad when the sixers lost, but Tobias Harris leaving made me get over it, because his leaving means we have a chance to win in the future but his subtraction, not his addition.. If he would have given anything near his contract we would be playing the Pacers now.. Good Riddance Tobias Harris.. I cannot wait to see where he signs.. I guarantee you it is a team with no near future chance to win anything, he will go to a team with the most money that has no expectations..
Let it out, Mike. Let it out. The internet is a safe space.
I'm really curious about how the team's leadership dynamics have ebbed and flowed over the past 5.5 seasons in and around Tobi. He's a vet who was paid the most on the team for most of those years and goes out of his way to take younger players under his wing. But is that someone any younger player should really be taking cues from? For what can he be looked up to in an NBA context other than someone who knows how to get a bag without necessarily deserving it (by focusing simply on getting counting stats and not necessarily doing the small things that contribute as much to winning)?
Was the team staff sitting there in the video room reviewing game tape and not holding Tobi accountable over and over and over again?
The leadership of this team is not in a great place. Tobi's leadership role had a false tone or an "emperor wears no clothes" feel to it. Jo's leadership is ... sigh ... standoffish and uninspiring because it's selfishly, and unsustainably modeled after martyrdom leadership. Rarely can any of Embiid's teams be characterized as guys who played their hearts out for each other and maybe that's because of trauma due to chronic mass turnover. Or maybe because one of the few constants on these teams was the highest paid player who was more focused on simply outputting 50-40-90 than driving winning outcomes or the success of his teammates.
Daryl's certainly got his work cut out for him in finding the right pieces for the next iterations of this team.
But at least the symbolic lodestar that has ironically been an anchor around the team's neck for more than half a decade has been cut loose so that this ship can set sail once again -- this time, hopefully in the right direction.
I hated blaming Tobias because it felt like a broken record. It wasn't his fault he was overpaid but it limited the Sixers in so many ways. Playoff flops withstanding, one of the more frustrating memories was against the Kings this year, when the arena was chanting his name hoping he'd drop 40 points. But he ends up with 37 after shooting 0 free throws in the second half in a game where everyone was deferring to him. Even then, he still couldn't take over and give the fans that moment when everyone still desperately wanted to believe he could do it.
My text group has labeled him unaffectionately “ass” and rightly so. Well done MOC. Thank You for calling him ‘Ass’ and providing a much more detailed explanation. Elton blew it big time getting seduced by stats not on court face validity. We all suffered. BUT you got his most memorable moment wrong. I’ll never forget the bubble playoff game he landed on his head in the 3Q and returned to play in the 4Q, IIRC. Maybe that TBI incident was why he never did anything? Only asking to give him an excuse that will allow us to feel a little bit less venomous towards him. Otherwise, keep the venom flowing!
By far the single biggest reason for the Sixers failures over the last 5.5 season. It's not just that he wasn't really even a good player in the context of the current NBA game, but his salary obliterated any chance to coherently team build. Also, I'm not really sure how someone who had been traded so often prior to getting to the Sixers was viewed as player to lock down for 5 years?
That felt good to read... it must have felt great to write! My Grandmother often stressed ended on a positive note - so here it goes: Tobi and Bobi made my kid smile.
Ouch. I think you went a bit overboard but as a former scout I'm sure you know more than I do. I disagree with many sentiments toward the end. You really should write this about Elton brand, Brett brown, and the other higher ups. They should have told tobias be a role player and that's all but bc he was given 180 million nobody would say it.
I feel like I need a Tobi tribute video both with good moments (i.e. - game winner vs LAL in Jan '21, bullying a smaller player in the post during the 1st qtr, etc.) sprinklered in with some of the bad (i.e. - making bad decisions with the ball, incorrect defensive reads, wing jumpers which miss the rim and hit the other side of the board, etc.) .
For me, Tobi will be remembered by his ability to ice his own team in big games. Those times when he finally bullies his way to the basket on a much smaller defender only to miss the layup, retrieve the rebound and miss the next layup. Or the transition three after someone other than him creates a huge turnover, for him to be on his spot and brick it. He was a man that coward in fear if an alpha was on the court. Even if his salary was free, he’s not a player you will win with
I agree with you 100%.. I can only dream how successful we would hve been the last 5 years, if we would have had anybody but Tobias Harris.. He is not even a bench player.. Him and Ben Simmons are the main two reasons the sixers lost in the playoffs, they never ever stepped up only done and they only made a difference in losing never winning.. I felt bad when the sixers lost, but Tobias Harris leaving made me get over it, because his leaving means we have a chance to win in the future but his subtraction, not his addition.. If he would have given anything near his contract we would be playing the Pacers now.. Good Riddance Tobias Harris.. I cannot wait to see where he signs.. I guarantee you it is a team with no near future chance to win anything, he will go to a team with the most money that has no expectations..
Let it out, Mike. Let it out. The internet is a safe space.
I'm really curious about how the team's leadership dynamics have ebbed and flowed over the past 5.5 seasons in and around Tobi. He's a vet who was paid the most on the team for most of those years and goes out of his way to take younger players under his wing. But is that someone any younger player should really be taking cues from? For what can he be looked up to in an NBA context other than someone who knows how to get a bag without necessarily deserving it (by focusing simply on getting counting stats and not necessarily doing the small things that contribute as much to winning)?
Was the team staff sitting there in the video room reviewing game tape and not holding Tobi accountable over and over and over again?
The leadership of this team is not in a great place. Tobi's leadership role had a false tone or an "emperor wears no clothes" feel to it. Jo's leadership is ... sigh ... standoffish and uninspiring because it's selfishly, and unsustainably modeled after martyrdom leadership. Rarely can any of Embiid's teams be characterized as guys who played their hearts out for each other and maybe that's because of trauma due to chronic mass turnover. Or maybe because one of the few constants on these teams was the highest paid player who was more focused on simply outputting 50-40-90 than driving winning outcomes or the success of his teammates.
Daryl's certainly got his work cut out for him in finding the right pieces for the next iterations of this team.
But at least the symbolic lodestar that has ironically been an anchor around the team's neck for more than half a decade has been cut loose so that this ship can set sail once again -- this time, hopefully in the right direction.
I hated blaming Tobias because it felt like a broken record. It wasn't his fault he was overpaid but it limited the Sixers in so many ways. Playoff flops withstanding, one of the more frustrating memories was against the Kings this year, when the arena was chanting his name hoping he'd drop 40 points. But he ends up with 37 after shooting 0 free throws in the second half in a game where everyone was deferring to him. Even then, he still couldn't take over and give the fans that moment when everyone still desperately wanted to believe he could do it.
My text group has labeled him unaffectionately “ass” and rightly so. Well done MOC. Thank You for calling him ‘Ass’ and providing a much more detailed explanation. Elton blew it big time getting seduced by stats not on court face validity. We all suffered. BUT you got his most memorable moment wrong. I’ll never forget the bubble playoff game he landed on his head in the 3Q and returned to play in the 4Q, IIRC. Maybe that TBI incident was why he never did anything? Only asking to give him an excuse that will allow us to feel a little bit less venomous towards him. Otherwise, keep the venom flowing!
🔥🎯👋