Philadelphia 76ers: Tobias Harris’ numbers are still All-Star caliber
“Philadelphia 76ers All-Star forward Tobias Harris.”
I like it; it has a nice ring to it.
It’s just too bad we won’t get to say it because, for the tenth year in a row, the NBA has overlooked everyone’s favorite combo forward, denying him a spot in the All-Star game.
Well hey, at least he’ll get to spend the time off with his best friend, Boban Marjanovic… Oh wait, never mind.
Tobias Harris has given the Philadelphia 76ers All-Star-level production.
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Tobias Harris and Doc Rivers have a special connection.
Harris has only averaged 20-plus points and more than 7.5 rebounds over a whole season twice in his career, and it’s no coincidence that both seasons were under Rivers’ watch. Call it a serendipitous consequence of having coached a Boston Celtics team with two Hall of Fame-bound forwards to a championship in 2008, but Rivers just has a way of getting the most out of 6-foot-8, two-way frontcourt players.
That, my friends, has been on full display in his first season in South Philly.
Though Harris still suffers through the occasional dry shooting spell and could still benefit from a more aggressive on-court demeanor, number 12 looks head and shoulders better on-court than in his previous tenure under Brett Brown.
Through the first 31 games of the season, Harris has become far more decisive with the basketball, either shooting without taking a dribble, driving to the basket, or passing the rock to a teammate to keep the offense in motion, all but eliminating the maddening multiple dribble sequence that would kill drives in seasons prior. Harris has also committed himself to crashing the boards early and often, picking up a few extra points a game on second chance putbacks. And, as his teammates would surely attest, Harris’ leadership has kept this team together in what is shaping out to be a very successful season.
*sigh* such is the life of a 3-and-D “glue guy”; you get the national respect of one Rodney Dangerfield.
Now, as Richard Jefferson so eloquently points out on Twitter, saying a player has been robbed of an All-Star appearance without saying who they should replace is easy. There are no real consequences to the statement, and no one can really protest too much one way or another.
When you pull a Jefferson, two things are clear: Harris’ stats are certainly All-Star-caliber, and it’s understandable why he didn’t get picked.
Of the bench forwards in the Eastern Conference, every player save Ben Simmons (if you count him as a forward) is averaging more points and more rebounds than Harris. With that being said, neither Julius Randle nor Nikola Vucevic are outscoring/rebounding Harris by that much and have the luxury of being the number one option more often than not in their respective team’s offenses.
Harris, for what it’s worth, is very rarely the first option on the Sixers and has proven himself ill-equipped for the role in games without Joel Embiid.
Get Ben Simmons on Dan Snyder’s All-Star team. dark. Next
But hey, that’s alright. Not every player is built to be a team’s number one option, and not every player has to be good at everything to be successful (looking at you, Matisse Thybulle). Maybe Tobias Harris is better suited as a high-end role player and will remain woefully underrated by anyone but the most serious online NBA hipsters. If the Philadelphia 76ers are winning, I don’t think he, his teammates, or his fans will particularly care either way.