‘Stay ready and stay patient’: Tobias Harris continues to fill the gaps for the Sixers
On a team with less talent, the forward would have more opportunities, but he's often the fourth option in Philly. "Really, I just have to be OK with that."
SAN FRANCISCO — Tobias Harris’ role on the 76ers is to go with the flow.
On a team with less talent, the forward would have opportunities to be one of their leading scorers. Harris would have a shot to put up All-Star numbers and become the face of a franchise.
But with the Sixers, Harris is the fourth option behind Joel Embiid, James Harden, and Tyrese Maxey. Buried in the pecking order, the 12th-year veteran doesn’t have plays called for him. His job is to create spacing for Embiid and Harden. But he gets elevated into a key scoring role when one of the team’s first three options is sidelined.
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Wednesday’s 116-91 road victory over the Chicago Bulls was a prime example. With Harden sidelined with a sore left Achilles, Harris finished with 20 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists. And in the last four games he’s averaging 19.0 points while shooting 62.8% from the field and 60.0% from three.
“It’s just staying patient in the flow of everything,” Harris said before Friday’s game against the Golden State Warriors. “There’s going to be nights where the ball finds me more than others. There’s going to be nights where [it doesn’t.]
“Really, I just have to be OK with that, and just really do other things on the floor and do things that’s going to help the team win, and stay ready and stay patient.”
Harris’ scoring average of 14.9 points is the lowest of his career. He hasn’t posted a lower average since putting up 13.7 points in 49 games with the Orlando Magic during the 2015-16 season. Harris ended that season with the Detroit Pistons.
The lack of consistency hasn’t taken away from Harris’ impact on the team, thanks largely to his defensive improvement. Once a liability, Harris has excelled on defense this season, and he has even shown himself capable of guarding perimeter players.
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One of his better defensive performances came while guarding Portland Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons on Jan.19. Simons made just 6 of 15 shots while scoring16 points and committed five turnovers.
“Honestly, that’s a part of my game that has taken a tremendous leap,” Harris said. “And it’s being able to go out there and guard, and being able to do my best to make those other guys that are top-notch scorers, you know, make them have difficult looks.”
The 30-year-old is averaging 1.0 steal per game, the second-highest average of his 12 NBA seasons. And Harris excelled as a two-way player. While he has taken a lesser role this season, the Sixers are going to need him to take advantage of scoring opportunities in the postseason. He’ll welcome that.
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“We as a whole group, we are figuring out ways to be at our best,” Harris said. “That’s encouraging for guys and really for the whole group to understand that we need each other to get this done, and we’re at our best when everybody is feeling good and in rhythm and in flow. So I think that increases and helps the vibe of it. We just need more of it.”
At the same time, he’ll continue to just go with the flow.