Philadelphia 76ers: Tobias Harris’ flexibility deserves some credit

Tobias Harris took a lot of flack over the course of the 2021-22 NBA season, some of it warranted, some of it not so much.

Immediately thrust into the role of a second star before slowly but surely having his thunder stolen by the rapid ascent of Tyrese Maxey and then James Harden, no player has watched their role change more from month to month than Harris, and his efficiency has suffered as a result.

And yet, after being linked somewhat reluctantly to both the Sacramento Kings and the Atlanta Hawks in Ben Simmons trade talks, Harris has seemingly put it all together and proved the Sixers’ Big 3 really should be a Big 4, especially when you consider how inconsistent players 5-15 have been so far this postseason.

Have his numbers always been eye-popping? No, but his play is more often than not a positive asset for the Philadelphia 76ers, and at this point in the (post)season, that really matters.

The Philadelphia 76ers have gotten the best out of Tobias Harris.

So far this postseason, Tobias Harris is averaging 18.6 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game for the Philadelphia 76ers while maintaining a shooting split of 51.2-38.6-86.4.

Those numbers, objectively speaking, are pretty good; you’d like to see a bit higher shooting percentage from the 3 and to see more overall offensive consistency, as Harris only scored nine points in Game 3 versus Miami, but hey, that’s nitpicky. Harris is actually scoring 2.75 fewer points in Sixers wins than losses – largely due to Joel Embiid’s absence – so you’ll take that line from a fourth starter any day of the week.

In a fun twist of fate, Harris has equally shined on the defensive end of the court, where he currently ranks fourth on the Sixers in defensive win shares, and third on the team in Defensive RAPTOR behind only Embiid and Danny Green, according to FiveThirtyEight. While Harris isn’t going to make anyone forget about his should-have-been teammate Mikal Bridges, he’s been far from exploitable by the likes of Jimmy Butler, O.G. Ananoby, and Pascal Siakam, which is a whole lot easier said than done.

Goodness, even Harris’ 3 point shot has come into its own, as he’s not only connecting on them at an above-average clip, but he’s attempting 4.9 per playoff contest, which is 1.1 more per game than his regular season average. Harris’ willingness to largely throw away his preference for operating in the midrange to instead distill his offense down to (mostly) catch-and-shoot 3s and decisive drives to the basket has improved the Sixers’ offense and kept the game from becoming stagnant.

Because Harris is playing like a plus player at both ends of the court, the Sixers have been able to turn to more unconventional lineups expressly because they have their third max contract player to help bail them out. Doc Rivers used a no-center look with Harris and Georges Niang splitting duties in the paint in Games 1 and 2 versus Miami to great effect, and while it didn’t ultimately result in any notches in the wins column, the look could come back in handy in Game 4, 5, 6, or even 7, should the services go that long.

Could Tobias Harris still see his run with the Philadelphia 76ers come to a premature end later this year? You bet; if the team can’t pull three more wins out of their hat this month, I would expect a good bit of roster reconstruction around Joel Embiid, James Harden, and Tyrese Maxey, but for now, Harris is giving his team everything he has at the expense of his preferred playing style and, in my humble opinion, that deserves some credit.