When the Philadelphia 76ers re-signed Tobias Harris to a $180 million max contract over the summer, they expected him to become a big scoring option for them from the perimeter. In order to do that, he has to be able to have that mentality of putting the ball in the basket every time he touches the ball.
In Saturday’s 119-116 win over the Indiana Pacers, Harris scored 22 points and he made some big plays in the second half to help secure the win. He took 16 shots, above his season average of 14.4 shot attempts per game entering the contest. This comes after he scored 13 points in the second half of their win over the New York Knicks on Friday and it’s a good sign for him as he continues to grow into that type of player for Philadelphia.
Coach Brett Brown said post-game:
I have preached it to everyone and to him as well: I want him to find the rim. A scorer is a scorer, it’s not JJ Redick always, but driving [to the basket] is what we want. Whether it’s a rise up, pull up long 2, a catch-shot three, something off a catch go-go catch to the rim, we need him to score and I want him to think like a scorer. I think that he is, but I also think that he has been improving tremendously defensively.
Brett Brown on Tobias Harris as a scorer #Sixers pic.twitter.com/vWiLGlOG3V
— Ky Carlin (@Ky_Carlin) December 1, 2019
Harris’ defense has much improved compared to previous seasons as he continues to get low on the defensive end and move his feet. Ben Simmons was the one who made the big plays on defense late in the game, but Harris deserves a lot of credit for forcing his man towards Simmons and allow him to make those plays.
Brown added on Harris:
Tobias is very prideful. You can’t just dust off scores [against you], there has to be some level of pain. He wants to get better. He’s a prideful person and I forget sometimes, really, how young he is. He’s got character and he’s an athlete and that can point to defense. I think that he has the characteristics that can make him an elite defensive player.
As always, this will take some time. Harris is not going to wake up one day and be this consistent 20 points per game type of scorer and become an All-Star. He needs to continue and grow as a player, much like his team. He just needs to continue this path he’s on and continue to add to his game. [lawrence-related id=20365,20357,20347]