Tobias’ playoff numbers the 3 seasons before last. A lesson in how narratives form. Harris had one down season and the story becomes that he can’t perform when the stakes are high. For a 3rd/4th option on a playoff team, there is nothing wrong with this output.
by Myomyw
7 Comments
As with everything in life, having unrealistic expectations leads to disappointment. It’s ok if your 3rd or 4th option doesn’t average 20pts + on 40%. It’s possible Harris has another down year for us and his career is in decline, and it’s also possible he returns to his averages and is a great 2nd or 3rd option next to Cade and Ivey.
I don’t think it was a pure numbers thing for Tobias. I think it was a mix of the huge contract plus him not performing in the big moments that made Sixers fans angry with him.
This doesn’t matter for us anyway. I think we make the play in but beyond that I don’t expect too much. Tobias for us is mainly just a real nba player that is solid which we have not had in a while. If he plays like recent years he’ll be great for us
It’s the same offseason conversation that surrounded Dillon Brooks the year before after he had a horrible playoff. I actually think Tobias’ problem is that he’s not good enough to be a top 2 option on a really good team but his game requires too much usage to be a distant 3rd option like he was in Philly. I think he had a hard time fitting into an offense when he was asked to be deferential for large stretches. He shouldn’t have that problem in Detroit.
I think a majority of the hate was because his contract not matching his output, and let’s be real it wasn’t. Think he was just a few million away from $40mil and that’s a lot for a 3rd, let alone 4th, option no matter how you look at it. Even with me liking Tobi I thought that was too much for someone who’s never been an all star even once.
Well hypothetically if he wasn’t at the level anymore to contribute to a title run…that is a non issue for us. So yes the narrative was dumb, but it also has nothing to do with what we want him for.
Not really concerned about being an apologist for Harris. Just making the post season would be a huge leap. And Harris isn’t a long term piece considering his age and contract.
Agreed the narratives against him was a bit unfair given his consistent output as a number three/four but a bit overpaid according to most ppl. To be fair a lot of guys got paid that 2019 offseason. Honestly I always liked Tobi and was hurt when we traded him to LAC. Happy to have him back now though, really interested to see how he helps our young core develop.