Now that the Philadelphia 76es have clinched a playoff spot after their road win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday, the focus now becomes focused on what the Sixers have to do in order to properly compete and contend for a title.
While the focus is going to be on the team’s star duo of Joel Embiid and James Harden, there has to be help from the others in order to truly get the job done.
That means they have to get a guy like Tobias Harris involved more on the offensive end as they continue to grow as a team. The Sixers have made Harris more of a catch-and-shoot guy next to the two stars and he has begun to understand this more as he is shooting 41.4% from deep over the previous 14 games.
NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson says getting the ball to Harris is going to be the key for the Sixers to win in the playoffs:
Until Tobias Harris becomes a factor on the offensive end, yes, I’m concerned because when you think about, they need him to take the pressure off of Embiid and that takes the ball out of James’s hand. My problem with the Sixers, he got it too much, and a team can load up on the Sixers because of that and so if they don’t get Harris involved, and then they have one of the worst benches in terms of scoring, they got to get somebody off that bench that can give him some points. That (Seth) Curry trade with Curry going to Brooklyn, that sort of hurt them as well. So I would say this. I like the talent, but Tobias Harris has got to be a key.
The Sixers will have to be able to continue to grow Harris into this new role and with four games left before the playoffs, there isn’t much time to get him into that groove and rhythm before the games really count. Johnson is correct in his statement, though. The Sixers will be led by Embiid and Harden, of course, but Harris is going to be the X-Factor for this team on offense.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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