Finishing at the rim has opened everything up for the Sixers’ Tobias Harris
Getting to the rim “allows me to get to my mid-range and just make plays at the basket downhill, and that has been there for me the whole year,” Harris said.
Tobias Harris is arguably having his best season in his 10th year, and a major reason has been the Sixers power forward’s ability to attack the basket.
Driving to the hoop has opened so much of his game. The 6-foot-8 Harris has been quicker against taller defenders and has been able to post up against smaller ones.
“I think being able to finish at the rim is huge for my success,” Harris said after scoring 21 points in Monday’s 106-94 win at Chicago.
Last season, he shot 65.4% on shots at the rim, according to Basketball-reference.com. This year, he is shooting 70.6% on similar shots (127-for-180).
Getting to the rim “allows me to get to my mid-range and just make plays at the basket downhill, and that has been there for me the whole year,” Harris said.
Harris has also bounced back from an off-game. In Sunday’s 113-111 overtime win in San Antonio, he shot just 3-for-10 from the field in scoring a season-low six points.
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On Monday, he shot 10-for-13 from the field. The game against the Bulls was a perfect example of how successful he has been in getting to the rim. Five of his 10 field goals were at the rim.
Harris is doing much more than scoring at the rim. He is shooting well from all distances, including three-point range.
In his first year-and-a-half with the Sixers, he shot 35.5% from three-point range. This year, he is shooting 40.1%.
Harris’s scoring average of 19.7 points is almost identical to last season’s 19.6, but he is more efficient. Last year, he averaged 16.3 field-goal attempts per game. This season, it’s 14.8. He’s taking fewer shots but making more of them.
Last year, he shot 47.1% from the field, 36.7% from three-point range, and 80.6% from the foul line. This year, he is at 52.1%, 40.1% and 89.1%, respectively. He is threatening to join the 50-40-90 club that includes only eight NBA players.
The Sixers (44-21) are one game up on the second-place Brooklyn Nets in the Eastern Conference.
While the Sixers have placed a priority on earning the No. 1 seed, being healthy going into the playoffs will be a key, too. Last month, Harris missed four of six games, including three in a row, because of a bone bruise on his right knee.
Harris returned to action April 22 in a 124-117 loss at Milwaukee. He has played in seven consecutive games.
In that first game back, there was some rust, especially in the first half, when he shot 2-for-7. But he finished 8-for-16 in that game. Monday’s game was his best since his return.
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“It is 100%, so I am good,” Harris said about his knee.
The Sixers will conclude their three-game road trip Wednesday against a Houston Rockets team that is 16-49 and has lost two in a row and seven of eight.
For Harris and the Sixers, the remaining seven games are about fine-tuning things while maintaining their spot atop the Eastern Conference.
“We’re just trying to get our full rhythm and make a big push toward the end of the year,” Harris said. “Being in first place has been a goal for us all year long, and we want to sustain it, looking to ride this thing out, being as healthy as possible, and be in a great rhythm for when we start the playoffs.”