Philly fans using Tobias Harris to troll Paul George

Tobias Harris’ start with the Detroit Pistons has been much different than his finish with the Philadelphia 76ers. 

Harris got a warm welcome from fans in Detroit, who liked him in his first stint with the team and welcomed his steady play and veteran leadership.

This was after Harris was made the scapegoat for a lot of Philly’s problems last season and had an acrimonious relationship with the city as he ran out the door in free agency.

But fans and outsiders alike have been singing a different tune since Harris’ new team, the Pistons, have gotten off to a decent start while his old team has the worst record in the NBA. 

Most 76ers fans were delighted when the team acquired Paul George and gave him a massive contract, as “anyone would be an upgrade over Harris,” who actually wasn’t even bad for Philly. 

Not only did he provide his normal steady scoring, but according to insider Marc Stein (subscription) via Jake Fischer, he was an important voice in the locker room: 

“Former Sixers veteran swingman Tobias Harris, sources told The Stein Line, used to serve as a veteran presence who could whisper lessons of professionalism to Embiid and Ben Simmons alike. Harris, obviously, is now in Detroit.” 

This was after Philly reportedly had a player’s meeting that was leaked, which didn’t please Joel Embiid. 

So maybe Philly’s problems weren’t all Tobias Harris after all, maybe look inward at your MVP. 

Harris has been his normal steady self for the Pistons, and don’t think the Philly fans haven’t noticed, as they are using his start to troll their own player. 

Paul George is the new Tobias Harris in Philly 

I woke up to Tobias Harris trending on social media, which was strange, and found it was mostly Philly fans and outsiders comparing him to Paul George. 

George has only played eight games this season, while Harris has played all 17 and the two are both averaging just over 14 points per game. 

Harris is adding 7.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and a block while shooting 45.5 percent overall and 33.3 percent from long range. 

In his eight games, George has added 5.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.3 steals to his point total while shooting just 38 percent from the floor and 27 percent from long range, which you would expect given that he was coming off an injury. 

No one in their right mind thinks Harris is better than George, but their similar numbers and the fact that Harris has played in all the games, has brought out the ire on social media. 

Not all of these are Philadelphia fans of course, but George’s injury issues (he’s out again after bruising his knee) were the main reason I picked Philly as my surprise bad team this season.

George recently took exception to being booed upon his return to LA to play the Clippers, but I can guarantee you that Philly has much worse in store for him if this continues, and by the 4th year of that deal, Sixers fans may be wishing they had Tobias Harris back.