Borderline All Star in 2018-19, Tobias Harris played the best basketball of his career with the Clippers. Bombard pack leader of a revengeful team by Doc Rivers, the winger was shooting 20.9 points 43.4% long distance, 7.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists. Staggering statistics that seduced the Sixers to repatriate him to Philadelphia. The franchise has even organized a maximum contract last summer of 180 million over 5 years. Since this extension, Harris has been a bit disappointing, especially in terms of his shooting percentages. Little impact in the game, he never found his marks under the orders of Brett Brown. The arrival this offseason from Doc Rivers has changed the game. By finding his former coach, Harris is again responsible in the collective. Sign of this improvement, the Sixers player has just been named player of the week by accumulating 23.3 points 57.1% on shots, 9.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists. An honor that he had not received since November 2018, precisely with the Doc its cts. After the last victory against Charlotte, Harris spoke about the new mentality that drives the group:
I think more that it’s Doc who shoots the whole group. I’m the kind of player whose game can line up with what coaches ask me. What he asks this team is to play fair: to move the ball, to have confidence in each other, to use his teammates to really be a collective group. The mentality and attitude of doing all we can for others, of making the right pass, makes us go from a good team to a great team. This mentality is good for my personal game, has helped me to be in a good flow and to play better.
The Doc Rivers method seems to be bearing fruit so far. Philadelphia leads the entire League with a record of 6 wins and 1 loss. By empowering the entire team, everyone contributes. A novelty compared to last year, where the collective has never lived up to expectations. For Harris, this excellent start to the season is to the credit of Doc :
This style of play is successful for me. It had already been a success in Los Angeles with Doc. But, I will be selfish to say “Hey, this is what Doc does for me”. You have to say “That’s what Doc does for the whole team”. It forces us to play an ideal style of basketball and to win matches the way he can.
–
