Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris is one of the more versatile players in the league. He is able to seamlessly swing between the small forward and power forward spots and be an efficient scorer from each spot.
That is why the Sixers kept him around on a 5-year $180 million deal. He is a guy who can put the ball on the floor, knock it down from deep, and he can rebound well at his position. Philadelphia is going to need Harris to excel in this new offense for everything to go smoothly when the season does officially resume.
For all of his work, Harris came in ranked as the 63rd best player in the NBA in a top 100 players list put together by Bleacher Report.
B/R on Harris’ ranking:
Evaluating Tobias Harris’ season against the five-year, $180 million max deal he signed over the offseason would be unfair to him. He isn’t playing up to that contract, but the Sixers aren’t paying him to. Last year’s market gave him leverage. Philly’s still-mysterious breakup with Jimmy Butler gave him more.
Harris actually has performed up to snuff following a rocky start to the year. He’s averaging 20.0 points and 3.1 points while swishing 39.1 percent of his threes since Nov. 15.
For all the Sixers’ offensive clumpiness, they’ve fared quite well when Harris sets up shop at power forward—lineup combinations they have at the same time fielded more than you think and not nearly enough. (Translation: What is Al Horford doing in Philly?) His defense has also been pleasantly solid, even relative to the less-squirmy assignments he pulls by seeing so much time between some combination of Josh Richardson, Ben Simmons, and Matisse Thybulle.
The Sixers will play the first of three scrimmage games on July 24 against the Memphis Grizzlies. They will then get back at it on August 1 against the Indiana Pacers. That is when Harris will be able to show off his skillset again and help the Sixers chase a championship. [lawrence-related id=34732,34726,34698]