The Philadelphia 76ers were scheduled to host the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday evening and, for most of the day, a lot of the attention on Philadelphia’s injury report focused on Joel Embiid’s absence for rest. However, the Sixers announced within an hour of tip-off that Tobias Harris had been scratched due to the NBA’s Health and Safety Protocols. From there, the reporting continued, first with ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski indicating that Philadelphia was looking to garner additional information in the coming hours.
Sixers are expected to know more in the next 12-to-24 hours on a timetable for a Tobias Harris return, sources tell ESPN. He's out tonight vs. Portland due to Health and Safety Protocols. https://t.co/CkJopBhieD
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 1, 2021
Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that Harris is expected to miss “several games.”
76ers forward Tobias Harris is expected to miss several games in the NBA’s health and safety protocols, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Harris entered protocols tonight.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 1, 2021
At this stage, nothing is official with regard to a timeline, but with Philadelphia already playing without Ben Simmons, the 76ers will be tested in terms of forward depth. Above all, the hope would be that Harris is healthy and okay. From a basketball standpoint, though, Philadelphia started Monday’s game with a very small lineup, deploying three guards (Seth Curry, Tyrese Maxey, and Furkan Korkmaz) along with Danny Green as the team’s nominal power forward.
Additional details will undoubtedly emerge in the coming days with regard to Harris’s status. In the meantime, Philadelphia will need to piece together minutes at both forward spots, with the potential for more playing time for players like Matisse Thybulle and Georges Niang.
