During the summer of 2019, the Philadelphia 76ers chose Forward Tobias Harris over Jimmy Butler. Even though the team wanted to sign both players, ultimately Harris received a five-year contract worth $180M, and Butler got traded to Miami.
Last year, Harris was the fourth option and was finding his way adjusting to a new offense and although he had his moments, he was rarely a big factor in Brown’s offense. This year Harris is arguably the second offensive option behind Joel Embiid.
Harris was struggling to find his rhythm earlier in the season. He had a game against the Thunder where he was 0-23 from the field and the Sixers were battling with spacing on the floor because of Harris’ setbacks from the field. Teams could sag off and clog the lane which limited Embiid and Ben Simmons. Harris may be the Sixers’ best perimeter shooter, but he was not playing like it.
Since that abysmal performance against the Thunder, Harris is scoring 18.4 points per game, grabbing 7.2 rebounds per game, and he leads the Sixers in field goals made with 313. He is also shooting a career-best from the three-point line, hitting 48.9 percent from the field.
Harris looks like he is starting to become more comfortable with his role on the team and as the Sixers get ready for a tough stretch of games in December, the team will be relying on his scoring ability to help the team.
The 76ers are currently in fifth place in the Eastern conference. This team has not completely come together yet and are in a good position early in the season. With Harris starting to put together quality performances, the lanes should be open for Simmons and Embiid to attack the paint and this team should be able to take advantage of teams keying in on Harris.
Harris will have to continue being a consistent performer from the perimeter for this team to truly go far this season. The Sixers will need Harris to shoot more and continue to get his teammates involved if the Sixers want those championship aspirations to be accomplished.
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
