Sixers: Ranking every player on the roster after James Harden trade

Ranking every Sixers player — 4. Tobias Harris

Strictly in terms of on-court impact this season, Tobias Harris is closer to the player above him on this list than Thybulle, the player below him. Interpreting this as a ranking of the 76ers’ players as they stand today, we will proceed by ignoring Harris’ absurd contract and only discuss on-court Tobias for the 76ers this season. Can he be a good enough third or fourth option for the 76ers to win the championship this season?

When the 76ers traded for Harris in 2019, those in favor of the move saw Harris as a snug fit alongside Embiid as a floor-spacer for the big man. Prior to the trade that season and the season before, he knocked down 42% of his 5.3 attempts per game. Unfortunately for Philadelphia, that floor-spreading vision has largely not panned out. This season, Harris is 34.5% on only 3.4 attempts per game. During his recent uptick in efficiency after his kerfuffle with the Philadelphia fans and their booing in the Rockets game on January 3, Tobias has shot 52.8% from the field and 43.8% from three. He’s been more direct attacking the basket and getting into shots that he likes from all areas. However, he has still been hesitant from three, taking under three per game in that span.

There are also times that Tyrese Maxey, the 76ers other best scoring option after Embiid and Harden, wavers with his shot or fades out of the offense (whether that is due to his own assertiveness or Doc Rivers’ coaching decisions is a subject for debate). Shooting-wise this season, they’ve been similarly efficient; Tobias sports a 56.4% true shooting percentage to Tyrese’s 56.7%. Their on/off statistics paint a different picture. The 76ers have a net rating of 2.8 with Maxey on the court versus 0.0 with him off the court, per nba.com. They have a 0.6 net rating with Harris on the court and a 2.9 rating with him off. This is not to say the 76ers are better off without Harris playing since other factors must certainly be considered, but these numbers may be a sign that Maxey has helped the 76ers more this season.

To get to where they want to go, the 76ers need to use the rest of the regular season to figure out what needs to change with James Harden entering the fold. For Harris, that means less of a playmaking load and more of a catch-and-shoot role, when Harden has the ball and draws extra defenders. Maybe, just maybe, we’ll see pre-Philadelphia Tobias emerge and start firing away from three more often. It may be more likely to see multiple small adjustments; a few more threes here, a few catch-and-go drives to the basket there, and more energy spent on the defensive end – if Thybulle’s shooting limitations prove to be too damaging in the playoffs, Harris will shoulder more of the defensive load, even though his lack of quickness and one-on-one defensive ability is not ideal. As Harris shifts into a more complementary role, we shall see if he becomes more efficient and patches some of the holes that need to be patched for the Sixers to get where they want to go.

— Andrew Rigas