When the Philadelphia 76ers acquired Tobias Harris from the Los Angeles Clippers at the February trade deadline, they knew they were acquiring a guy who can put the ball in the basket.
When they re-signed him in the offseason to a $180 million maximum contract, they were hoping he would take the next step in becoming a better defender and become an All-Star level of player. He’s doing just that so far in 2019-20.
Since struggling through an ice-cold shooting spell in early November, Harris entered the Christmas Day matchup with the Milwaukee Bucks averaging 21.4 points and shooting 39.4% from deep over a stretch of 21 games. He then scored 22 points against the Bucks on Wednesday and he shot 5-for-7 from deep in the win. He’s also doing this while playing some terrific defense on the other end of the floor.
“This is what I expected out of Tobias when we signed him to a long term deal,” said general manager Elton Brand. “All-Star caliber player, I hope he gets there. He’s turned his defense up a notch, his commitment on that end off the court, great leader for this organization. I’m glad he stuck with us. I’m glad he’s here.”
The most impressive part of Harris’ defensive improvement is the fact that he’s moving from defending power forwards down low to defending small forwards out on the perimeter. It’s something that the Sixers desperately needed out of him after acquiring Al Horford in free agency.
“Right out the gate at the start of the year, it was like ‘hey man, we need you to defend’,” said coach Brett Brown. “We want to be the best defensive team in the NBA and it is in you, I’ve said it many times if you’ve got character and you’re an athlete, that’s a great starting point and he’s got them both in an abundance. He’s responded. He doesn’t want to be looked at as the weak link or somebody that a team’s going to pick on in a scouting report and they shouldn’t now.”
The best part is, it’s not stopping either. Harris can continue to improve on that end and it could result in him earning some defensive accolades.
“He’s prideful,” Brown continued. “I think his attention to detail in a scouting report and following a game plan and knowing somebody’s strengths has grown as a student of the game. The base for him to be a multi-dimensional player, offense, defense is right before our eyes. I see it growing every day.”
If Harris can continue his progression, then Philadelphia will be in a better position to win a championship when the playoffs begin in April. [lawrence-related id=22164,22156,22146]