Tobias Harris was dealt to the Sixers last season, after trading Landry Shamet, Wilson Chandler, and Mike Muscala for Tobias Harris, Boban Marjanovic, and Mike Scott. Some said this move “forced” the front office to keep him and the Sixers and Elton Brand ended up showing out for Tobias with a five-year $180 million deal.
Now, Tobias hasn’t necessarily “lived up” to his contract, but he’s been pretty damn consistent compared to another questionable contract in Al Horford. This year Tobias is averaging 19.4 PPG, 3.1 AST, shooting 47.5% and 37.0% from three. In the last 10 games, he’s had his foot on the gas, shooting 48.5% and 40.8% from three. With Embiid and Simmons out, he’s expected to be the lead guy, but can he sustain this once they return?
In all honestly, Harris needs to continue to show what he can do to prove he is worth the money the Sixers shelled out for him this offseason. With the trends of NBA contracts, it isn’t all that bad, he gives you consistency which is desperately needed on the Sixers offense.
Tobias and Al need to step up to complement Ben and Jo as the playoffs approach rapidly. The thing they need to focus on above all else is improving the road play in the final stretch of the regular season, and Tobias needs to be the guy that leads that charge.
With Embiid and Ben being reevaluated next week, Coach Brown needs to get Tobias to lead the charge night in and night out.
Tobias seemed very aware of the road woes against the Sacramento last night. The Kings couldn’t slow him down, Harris ended the night with 28 points and 14 rebounds.
Following the game, he mentioned how this was the first road win since January 20th in Brooklyn. Clearly, the road struggles eat at the locker room game in and game out so hopefully they can wake up to help position themselves in the upper tier of the eastern conference.
Tobias will look to continue his hot streak at Golden State on Saturday night, which will be a tall task as Steph Curry has returned to the team after recovering from his hand injury. The backcourt will need to find a way to slow him down as he will try to make a statement before the end of the season.
Whether the Sixers win Saturday or not, Tobias needs to continue to show the team how big an impact he can make on a nightly basis. He clearly has the tools to be a top 2-3 player on this team and he seems to be trending in the right direction for the first time as a Sixer. We can only hope it continues.