While Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons are the clear best players on the Philadelphia 76ers, there’s an argument to be made that Tobias Harris is equally as important as those two.
The Sixers rely on Harris to knock down threes and space the floor while also scoring off the dribble and getting to the basket. He also is expected to be the closer down the stretch of games and also be one of the top perimeter defenders on the team for that two-way action.
“For me, the two things that rule my world with Tobias are I think that he is an improved defensive player and he’s a prideful person,” said coach Brett Brown. “So on the defensive side of things, I’ve seen progress. If you project out to playoff basketball, you’d expect there will be small-small pick-and-rolls to try and get him involved. We’ve tried to have him show on screens and do some other things.”
Strictly in terms of his offense, the Sixers want Harris shooting more threes. He averaged 5.0 attempts from deep per night and he is shooting 36.2% from deep, but Philadelphia wants more out of Harris, especially against a quicker Indiana Pacers team. That means more 3-point shot attempts.
“You’re going to play an Indiana team that since (Domantas) Sabonis has left, they’re very small and they’re hard to guard, they go up and down,” Brown added. “The challenge is there as it relates to some defensive matchups and so defensively, I’ve seen that. Offensively, I want him firing threes. I really want him hunting threes, he’s 6-foot-9, to not second guess. Simply, that’s how I see it as the coach.”
The Sixers and the Pacers tipoff at 7:00 p.m. EST from the VISA Athletic Center at Disney World. [lawrence-related id=35920,35912,35896]