It’s time for the “assassin scorer” to show up to this series.
As soon as Tobias Harris put pen to paper on his five-year, $180 million contract with the Sixers in 2019, he was destined to become the antithesis of a fan favorite in Philadelphia.
Much like late-2000s Andre Iguodala, Harris is a fine starter who’s being paid like a superstar. He’s one of only 19 players to average at least 17 points and six rebounds per game in four of the past five seasons. He’s also the only one of those players never to receive an All-Star nod.
Even that version of Harris would be an upgrade over what the Sixers have gotten out of him in the playoffs thus far. Through four games of their first-round series against the New York Knicks, Harris is averaging only 8.8 points on 39.5 percent shooting. He’s the Sixers’ fifth-leading scorer in the series, trailing Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Kyle Lowry.
As a reminder, the Sixers signed Oubre to a one-year, minimum-salary contract in mid-September. They signed the 38-year-old Lowry to a rest-of-season deal off the buyout market after the Charlotte Hornets waived him in mid-February. Harris is earning $39.3 million this year.
Scoring isn’t the only way in which Harris could make an impact on this series. To his credit, he was far more locked in defensively in Games 2 and 3 than he was in Game 1. He’s held his own at times on switches against Jalen Brunson, although Brunson torched Harris and everyone else whom the Sixers threw at him in Game 4 on Sunday. Still, Harris is the Sixers’ second-leading rebounder (31 in total) in a series where the Knicks’ domination on the glass helped them swing both Games 1 and 4.
Knicks swingman Josh Hart, who’s in the first year of a four-year, $80.9 million contract, demonstrated in Game 4 how to be a difference-maker even when his shot wasn’t falling. After turning into the second coming of Stephen Curry in Games 1-3, Hart finished 0-of-7 from the field in Game 4, but he grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds and dished out five assists to finish as a plus-2 in nearly 46 minutes of play. Meanwhile, Harris finished with 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting and eight rebounds and was a minus-7 in 34 minutes.
One of the things that drew the Sixers to Harris in the first place back in 2019 was his three-point shooting. He drilled a career-high 41.1 percent of his 5.6 three-point attempts per game in 2017-18 with the Detroit Pistons and Los Angeles Clippers, and he was shooting a scorching 43.4 percent from deep with the Clippers in 2018-19 prior to his arrival in Philadelphia. (Naturally, he shot 32.6 percent from three in his 27 games with the Sixers after the 2019 trade deadline.)
That three-point shot has all but abandoned him this year. During the regular season, he attempted only 3.7 threes per game and canned them at a 35.3 percent clip, his worst mark since the 2016-17 season. Against the Knicks, he’s a dismal 3-of-12 from deep. Cam Payne, who has played 108 fewer minutes than Harris in this series, is 4-of-7 from long distance.
The Knicks have grown wise to that as the series has progressed. They’ve started to leave Harris open and send extra help at Embiid and Maxey, knowing that Harris is unlikely to punish them for that decision. Much like the Sixers with Hart over the first few games, the Knicks are content with challenging Harris to beat them from deep.
If Harris were attacking the glass like Hart, creating plays for his teammates like Maxey and Lowry or playing lockdown, versatile defense, he’d at least come closer to earning his massive paycheck this year. Instead, he’s largely been a bystander as the Knicks have outmuscled and outexecuted the Sixers down the stretch throughout the series.
Last summer, Harris’ agent/father, Torrel Harris, made waves when he called his son an “assassin scorer” and said the Sixers weren’t utilizing him correctly.
“I mean, they can’t stop him,” Torrel Harris said. “Nobody in the league can stop him.”
Harris does have an array of post moves and mid-range craft that’s becoming increasingly uncommon, but he lacks a standout skill that he can fall back on. If his shot isn’t falling, he isn’t likely to make a game-changing impact in any other facet. That’s what differentiates him from players like Hart, and it’s among the many reasons that he was DOA on that contract from the start.
After Game 2, Rasheed Wallace lit into Harris for his underwhelming play against the Knicks.
“I can motherf**kin’ blame Tobias [Harris] with his sh*t though. Yeah, and if you listening, we mad with you too, dog. You gotta step that sh*t the f**k up. Yo, you gettin’ all that bread. We need more than 5-12 for 10 points.”
Rasheed Wallace’s thoughts on Tobias Harris pic.twitter.com/2PuqNS17U5
— Rasheed Wallace (@SheedAndTyler) April 23, 2024
With the Sixers’ season on the line Tuesday, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer suggested it might be time for head coach Nick Nurse to bring Harris off the bench. His rationale for the move was that it “would enable Harris to get ample touches and be a primary scoring option when Joel Embiid is on the bench.” (Color me skeptical.)
Still, desperate times call for desperate measures. The Sixers can’t afford to sit back and watch as Harris scuffles through another apathetic performance on offense. If he isn’t aggressive on both ends of the floor in Game 5, Nurse may need to give him a quick hook.
Granted, Nurse might not have many better options. Embiid missed shootaround with a migraine and is questionable for Game 5, while Oubre missed shootaround because of an illness. With two of his teammates ailing and Maxey drawing a ton of defensive attention from the Knicks, Harris should have a golden opportunity to put his imprint on this series Tuesday night.
If nothing else, let’s hope he doesn’t cost Charles Barkley another parlay. (Better yet: Chuck, maybe don’t bet on Harris’ scoring props to begin with?)
Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM.