Sixers: What should the closing lineup be?

Sixers’ closing lineup small forward: Tobias Harris

The “Tobias Harris is a power forward not a small forward” comments are already brewing, I can feel it. Let me keep it simple: Harris is listed here because another tall individual is listed at power forward. Furthermore, positional delineations matter very little in the modern NBA, and Harris playing the traditional “small forward” role offensively does not mean he would be subsequently forced to guard wings. You want Harris guarding the opposing four, and in this lineup, that is exactly who he would be guarding.

With that out of the way… duh, of course you close the game with Tobias Harris. Last season, many considered him the Sixers’ best crunch-time option — toss him the ball, and let him get you a bucket. That’s generally the wrong way to look at Harris’ skill set, and it’s pretty sad he was so widely considered the heart of Philadelphia’s closing lineup, but it’s also partially true. Harris can score in isolation from time and time, and the Sixers don’t have a lot of that on the perimeter.

Last season was the best of Harris’ career almost across the board. He averaged 19.5 points per game and encroached on the prestigious 50-40-90 club, coming up just shy. His All-Star snub was a topic of debate, and he looked much more comfortable in his third postseason run with the Sixers.

Harris is an elite spot-up shooter who can parlay that skill into attacking closeouts with dribble pull-ups or straight-line drives to the rim. Harris finishes strong inside, and he’s pretty deadly from mid-range when given the chance to get downhill and create space with sudden stop-start movements. He can’t really go out and create from scratch at the level of most premier perimeter shot-makers, but he’s the closest thing Philly has to that kind of player.