PHILADELPHIA–The Philadelphia 76ers needed somebody to step up and help Joel Embiid and James Harden on the offensive end in order to knock off the Toronto Raptors at home in overtime. Embiid had 28 points and 11 rebounds and Harden stuffed the stat sheet, but they needed more.
That “more” factor came from Tobias Harris. The veteran out of Tennessee was terrific as he had 21 points and he drilled five triples. He shot 7-for-9 on the night and he only missed two triples of the seven he took. He was terrific to ensure the Sixers got the win.
He has put in a ton of work over the summer in order to help Philadelphia succeed on the offensive end.
“He dedicated the summer to being a spot-up shooter and making shots and he’s doing that,” said coach Doc Rivers. “He’s got a quick trigger, you can see he’s worked on improving the quickness of his release. He’s doing that, he’s ready, and that’s not easy. Going four or five minutes and not getting any ball screens and making it, that’s hard. That’s really hard, and he stays ready, so very happy with him.”
The work that Harris has put in is evident as he continues to evolve as an elite 3-point shooter. He’s now shooting 42% from deep on the season to give the Sixers exactly what they need.
“I said going into the season that that was going to be the biggest thing to help this group, but also help myself with the amount of talent that we have,” explained Harris. “So just to have these nights, but to also know and to will myself through all year to be able to 5-for-7, 6-for-8, whatever it may be, you gotta be willing to take them at a high level. For me, I’m always looking for them in the flow of the game and just being able to get them up.”
Harris has such a high basketball IQ and he completely understands how and where he is going to get the shots he needs in order to succeed both individually and within the team. He has watched film in order to get an even better understanding of where he can get his shots.
“That’s just the mentality and the work that I’ve put in on all the off days and during the season and watching film and seeing very little details of how passes are coming in the flow of the game,” he added. “The amount of time from one 3 to the next 3, like all of these types of things go into preparation for the game, and to be able to make those shots, the timing of them, it’s great stuff that I was fortunate to get on top of this summer and even last year.”
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Story originally appeared on Sixers Wire