Philadelphia 76ers: Tobias Harris is beyond off his game

The Philadelphia 76ers had 6.1 seconds to make a play.

That doesn’t seem like a lot of time, and really it isn’t, but in a game down one on the road with Joel Embiid in the painted area, it’s possible… unless you do what the Sixers opted to do.

It all started right from the inbounds pass where Georges Niang faked it to Seth Curry, faked it to Danny Green, and eventually got the ball to Tobias Harris. On paper – or your phone screen – that sounds sort of odd, but the play call actually worked out well, as it got Al Horford switched off of Embiid and onto Harris at the top of the arc.

The only problem? Harris never passed the ball to Embiid, who was guarded by Jaylen Brown. No, he dribbled the ball six times, got turned around, and passed it out to Niang, whose shot wouldn’t have even counted since it was released after the buzzer.

This play was horrible. The personnel was bad – why is Georges Niang inbounding passes? Where were Tyrese Maxey and Shake Milton? – the decision-making was worse, and those six seconds further degraded what might just go down as Harris’ worst game with the 76ers. Unfortunately, those six seconds indicate much more alarming issues that have become harder and harder to ignore.

The Philadelphia 76ers need to figure out Tobias Harris’ role moving forward.

Who is Tobias Harris? Like, at his core, what kind of player is the Philadelphia 76ers’ $180 million man?

When Harris came to town alongside Boban Marjanovic and Mike Scott, he was lauded for his abilities as a 3-and-D forward. He was one of the most efficient 3 point shooting forwards in the NBA, a pretty good rebounder, and was held in high esteem for being one of the better teammates around.

On a team with a lot of egos, three All-Stars, and a 6-foot-10 point guard, Harris fit. But now, on a team sans Jimmy Butler and Ben Simmons, he’s been horribly miscast on a team desperate for an offensive identity.

You see, Harris loves to take ISO shots inside the arc. Even if he’s dished a perfect pass on the wing without a single defender around, fans will often see 12 put the ball on the ground, dribble inside and take a much lower percentage midrange shot. This wouldn’t be the worst thing if his shots were falling at a Matisse Thybulle-esque clip, but Harris is actually a pretty good 3 point shooter, especially in catch-and-shoot situations – draining 43.2 percent of his attempts last season-  he just doesn’t like to take them.

That unfortunate trend of taking the ball, dribbling for a bit, and then making things harder than they need to be had become pretty much Harris’ game, as you’ll routinely see him chuck a pass out to an “open” shooter like Joel Embiid, Seth Curry, or Danny Green after exhausting the vast majority of the shot clock and then run back on defense wondering why the ball didn’t go in.

In theory, even an unsuccessful drive to the basket can put points on the board, as a savvy scorer can draw contact and thus a foul, or draw enough bodies into the paint to free up an open look for his teammate. When Harris drives, however, he doesn’t look for contact or for shooters on the wings. No, if there’s an open lane to the bucket, Harris scores, but if there isn’t, he turns from Carmelo Anthony into Trevor Ariza, without the requisite collection of moves to get past a defender and into the restricted area.

In the modern-day NBA, you just can’t win like that.

No, in my humble opinion, Tobias Harris is struggling because he’s trying to be a player he isn’t. He isn’t vintage Melo, Tracy McGrady, or even Vince Carter; he’s a secondary scoring option who is getting paid like a primary one and doesn’t want to embrace a lesser involved role to allow Tyrese Maxey to become the team’s top half-court offensive engine on the perimeter. If Harris can play more like he did in 2018-19, the Philadelphia 76ers still be able to make things work. If not, Daryl Morey might just have Elton Brand’s prized trade acquisition in a different jersey before his Adam Sandler-starring movie Hustle comes out in 2022.