Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris is not putting up eye-popping numbers since James Harden joined the team at the All-Star break. He’s averaging only 13.8 points since the break, but he is shooting 46.6% from the floor and 39.4% from deep.
He had 20 points in Wednesday’s win over the Los Angeles Lakers and he followed that up with 12 points on Friday in the win over the Clippers. He shot 2-for-5 from deep in both games and it looks like he is getting more comfortable in his new role.
Harris is not the second-scorer on this team anymore. Sometimes, he isn’t even the third, and he has had to make adjustments to his game. He now has to focus on being a catch and shoot guy from deep and he also has to be a guy who can do a lot of different things out on the floor.
“Tobias is getting more and more comfortable,” said Rivers. “You can see it. He’s patient, he’s waiting for spots. When he gets them, he’s aggressive, he’s taking them. I think he’s really starting to shoot the ball well and be comfortable in that role.”
The Sixers will still need Harris to score more in certain games when Joel Embiid and Harden just don’t have it, but the fact that he can score in different ways is something that Philadelphia will certainly take moving forward. When the Clippers were making runs, the Sixers wanted to be sure they got him the ball close to the basket where he can use his size.
“I also think they’re seeing what he can do,” Rivers added. “A couple of times, I think the Clippers made a run, and I didn’t call it, they called the post-up play for Tobias. So that tells you where everybody’s growing.”
At this point, the Sixers will have to continue to grow his role within the new offense so this is something that he will have to continue to adjust to as the playoffs approach.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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