Tobias Harris has been arguably the Philadelphia 76er’s second best player and the definitely the most-consistent offensive threat of the Sixers’ big three of Harris, Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid.
“He’s been so steady and just responsible and reliable,” Sixers coach Brett Brown said of Harris after Philadelphia’s win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night. Harris scored 31 points in the contest. “He’s our go-to guy and I put him in a bunch of different spots.”
At 20-8, the Philadelpha Sixers are currently second in the standings in a surprisingly competitive Eastern Conference. And with that team success there’s talk that Harris could make his first NBA All-Star appearance with his season averages of 19.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in just over 34 minutes per game.
“Every night is an opportunity for me to go out there and do the best that I can to help our team win.” Harris said. “I’d love to be an All-Star. It’s a goal of mine as a player.”
Is This Tobias’ Year?
In our very early all-star predictions, we left Harris off the 2020 NBA all-star team in favor of his teammates Embiid and Simmons. No doubt if Philadelphia continues to be one of the top teams in the East, they’ll certainly have two representatives at the mid-season game.
The first will be Embiid. The 7-0 center is a lock to be the Sixers first all-star. The second choice naturally leans toward Ben Simmons, but because the point forward’s numbers are down to 14.3 points, 8.2 assists, 6.8 rebounds and 59.5 FT% from his all-star season last year, those uninspiring numbers certainly opens the doors for the underappreciated Harris to earn his first all-star berth.
So, what’s the likelihood of Harris making the team this year? Let’s just say we wouldn’t bet on it as we would with Philadelphia Flyers betting, Harris may be having a good season on a very good team, but his game lacks the luster that Simmons is able to provide with no look passes and high-flying, one-handed dunks. No offense, but mid-range jumpers aren’t sexy.
Still we think Harris’ production should have him seriously considered for his first nomination, and so does he.
“I thought last year I was an All-Star at the beginning of the season, but it didn’t happen that way. Each and every night with our team we have an immense amount of talent and I want to play at my best every single night to help us win games.” Harris said. “I know when I’m aggressive and getting things into flow, I’m a very hard player to guard. With that being said, I look to keep it up. I’m on this team to score the basketball and play at that level every single night and that’s what I hold myself to also.”
“For me, I want to do whatever I can to help us win.” Harris said on why he always wants to be on the floor. “The sky is the limit for our team and the potential, and we want to continue to progress.”
