Re-Signing Tobias Harris Was, Clearly, the Correct Move for the Sixers
This past summer, Elton Brand and the Philadelphia 76ers made small forward Tobias Harris the 5th-highest-paid player in the entire NBA.
No, Harris has not made any All-Star games. Yes, he has only played 16 playoff games in eight NBA seasons. But there is no doubt this was a deal that the Sixers had to make and Harris is showing Sixers fans why.
As more and more lucrative deals continue to pop up throughout the NBA, Harris was going to get his money somewhere. There were certainly other teams trying to enter the Harris sweepstakes and the size of the contract is evidence that he was heavily sought after.
Whether the Sixers wanted to move on from Jimmy Butler or Jimmy Butler wanted to move on from the Sixers, it was necessary to retain one of the two studs that Elton Brand traded for last fall. After packaging draft assets and a capable young rookie in Landry Shamet, Brand needed to find a way to make the Harris trade worthwhile.
So far this season, Harris is the only Sixers starter to play in all 33 contests and is averaging nearly 20 points per game, good for 12th in the East, while shooting a career-best, 49.2% from the field. Despite his three-point shooting numbers being down, he has continued to be extremely aggressive inside the arc by frequently posting up smaller defenders and attacking the glass.
According to nbashotcharts.com, only 29% of Harris’ shots this season have come from behind the three-point line, a large 4% decrease from last season. Luckily, he is beginning to heat up from long range. In his last three games, Harris has jacked up 20 three-pointers and has nailed 12 of them. And as the Sixers continue to develop chemistry as a starting unit, he will continue to get more high quality looks.
Harris finding consistency will be the key for this Sixers team to maximize their offensive potential. When Harris eclipses 20+ points this season, the Sixers boast a .800 winning percentage. This should demonstrate that Harris’ role needs to continue to expand.
Sixers Head Coach Brett Brown has yet to allow Harris to dominate the ball late in games and thus has not found out whether Harris is capable of bringing home wins for this team. Far too often Brown lets Joel Embiid get the ball in crunch time. While Embiid is obviously dominant, Harris is dangerous in the pick and roll and has proven that he can create his own, high-quality shot quicker than Embiid can.
It is difficult to feed a post player late in games and this past week against the Miami Heat, Sixers fans witnessed how dominant Tobias Harris can be. He hit two huge three-pointers in the last three minutes to eventually cut the Heat lead to 2.
But on the final possession, he failed to touch the ball. Although it was off of a missed free throw and the Sixers had no timeouts to draw up a play, Harris could have been put in a high pick and roll with Joel Embiid and likely created a better shot than Al Horford’s contested wing three-pointer.
Brown should attempt to use Harris in a similar fashion as he used Jimmy Butler late in games last season. In games against the Hornets and the Nets, Sixers fans will recall Butler getting the ball for two, three, and four possessions in a row to help bring the Sixers a win. Harris has Butler’s shot-creating ability, but Brown has yet to test his poise at that moment.
Harris faced heavy criticism from Sixers fans late in the summer and early this season. They have said he is not worthy of a $180 million dollar contract. But this discussion no longer serves a purpose.
He is a streaky player who will have ups and downs and he likely will never be the best player on this team. He is no doubt playing at an All-Star level right now and will be crucial as the Sixers enter a difficult stretch of their schedule.
Featured Image: SI.com
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