Tobias Harris hasn't been written in a long time, how many fans remember him? In Philadelphia and the Heat's Eastern Conference Semifinals G1, Harris drilled 37 minutes, shooting 11-of-18, 1-of-4 from three-point range, and 4-of-5 from the free throw line to score a game-high 27 points, plus 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block. The team eventually lost the game...
Not only did Harris excel on the offensive end, he and Danny Green put Jimmy Butler on 5-of-16 shooting and scored just 15 points. Speaking about how G2 should adjust, Harris said: "Attack the Heat's little guards, force them to change defenses, and then break through to the basket to create damage. The Heat's rebounding is very confrontational, and we have to strengthen defensive rebounding. ”
With Embiid determined not to play G1 and G2, Harris had to pay more on the defensive end, at least G1 he did. In this year's playoffs, Harris played in 7 games, averaging 40.4 minutes per game, making him an Ironman. He averaged 19.1 points, 9 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 0.6 steals and 1.1 blocks per game, which is quite comprehensive!
In addition, Harris shot 53.7 percent from the field, 41.2 percent from three-point range and 85.7 percent from the free throws. He averaged the second-highest playoff career average per game, shooting and three-point shooting that were career-highs in both the playoffs. Without a doubt, Harris played the best playoff performance of his career to date.
For comparison, Harris played in 73 regular season games this season, averaging 34.8 minutes per game, 17.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.6 blocks, shooting 48.2 percent from the field, 36.7 percent from three-point range, and 84.2 percent from free throws. Harris attacked 76th in the League and ranked only 170th in the league for defensive efficiency.
His regular season scoring average is a new low in the past five seasons, and his three-point shooting rate is also equal to the lowest in the past five seasons. There is no doubt that Harris is not worthy of a 5-year, 180 million contract in terms of regular season performance, and he was scolded for a season. Unexpectedly, in the playoffs, when Embiid fell, Harris supported the team.
Many people will wonder: how did Harris sign a 5-year, 180 million contract with this performance? It all started three years ago, when Harris was traded to Philadelphia by the Clippers on February 6, 2019. Throughout the 2018-19 season, he played 82 regular season games for both teams, averaging 20 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.
Why Harris was traded by the Clippers was because he turned down a four-year, $80 million contract extension for the Clippers. The Clippers packed Harris, Boban and Mike Scott in exchange for Shamet, Wilson Chandler, Muscala, two first-round picks and two second-round picks. In the summer of 2019, Harris signed a five-year, $180 million contract extension with Philadelphia.
Getting a big contract requires not only strength, but also a certain amount of luck. By the end of the contract in 2024, Harris had earned more than $250 million in his NBA career. For comparison, Thomas Jr. earned just $34 million in total career salary and Cousins at $91 million, which together are exactly half of Harris's total salary...
Harris has won 1 player of the month and 3 times of the week in his career, and this is his full honor. Who else can you think of a player with good luck like Harris?