Why The 76ers Should Ride With Tobias Harris
76ers forward Tobias Harris has been in the Philadelphia headlines quite a bit lately. Daryl Morey reportedly said he would like Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley, and draft capital in a trade for Harris. With that most likely not happening, the Cavaliers are off the table as trade partners.
Harris’s father believes the Sixers have misused him and called him “an assassin scorer" and references his days as a Clipper to justify his take. According to Harris’ father, “Nobody in the league can stop him” but the Sixers just put him in the corner. While the career 16.2 points per game (PPG) scorer aren't exactly lethal, there is some truth to how Harris is being used. Let’s break down the numbers.
Tobias Harris’ father has an issue with the Sixers putting his son ‘in the corner’ on offense
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) June 25, 2023
“Tobias is an assassin scorer. I mean they can’t stop him. Nobody in the league can stop him. So he’s proven that over his career even when he was with the Clippers he was an assassin… pic.twitter.com/Y3VtHAEnzg
Harris is a bucket
Starting with the scoring, Harris only averaged 14.7 minutes per game (MPG) as the fourth option in the Philadelphia offense. However, he was very efficient in his limited touches as he shot 50.1 percent from the field on just 11 attempts. Harris also knocked down 38.9 percent of his threes. One would argue Harris should sit in that right corner more as he shot nearly 50 percent from there on 77 attempts on the season. Harris was most lethal when putting the ball on the deck though. He shot 54 percent when he could dribble three to six times. Letting a scorer get into a feel is very important.
Winning plays or empty stats?
Tobias Harris was gifted a five year contract worth 180 million dollars in the summer of the 2019 offseason. Photo Credit: Yong Kim/The Philadelphia Inquirer
The statistics mentioned so far show that Harris can put that ball in the basket regardless of his role on offense, but do his statistics translate to success? This year’s playoffs suggest so. In the Sixers’ seven postseason wins this season, Harris averaged 17.7 PPG on 54.2 percent from the field while taking 13.7 attempts. In their losses, just 11 points on 47.4 percent with 9.5 attempts. Even in their last game of the season, he led the team with 19 points in a loss to the Boston Celtics while his top two players, Joel Embiid and James Harden, combined for 24. In short, more Harris shot attempts led to Sixers’ wins.
The consistent Tobias Harris in new air.
These numbers back up why Harris is one of the best-scoring role players in the NBA. His contract was given to him after a season of averaging 20 PPG as the third option and a pass-first guard. He then continued to average 19 PPG on his standard efficiency before Harden arrived and even then, the percentages stayed the same. The Sixers need to keep him. He showed defensive capabilities as the primary defender of Mikal Bridges, Jaylen Brown, and Jayson Tatum. New Head Coach Nick Nurse will do amazing things with Harris on both ends of the floor and it can bring the Sixers to a new place.
