Tobias Harris Has Become Mr. Consistent For The Orlando Magic

After signing an extension during the summer, Tobias Harris of the Orlando Magic is quietly doing all that is needed for his team to win games.

Right now the Orlando Magic have a 12-11 record which is a promising sign for this young squad as we’re already into December. Although they’ve currently fallen out of the playoff spots in an Eastern Conference that is more competitive this year, their season to date has been a solid one.

There are many reasons for this, including the hiring of Scott Skiles and the growth of this team’s talent from within. One guy not getting the praise he should though is Tobias Harris.

Harris you may remember signed a four year, $64 million dollar deal during the summer. While many fans were delighted with the extension and the figures involved, some felt that perhaps Harris was a luxury of sorts who ate into this team’s cap space and ability to make bigger moves in the future.

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What’s quickly become apparent however, is just how important he has become in that he’s filled a critical role that all playoff teams need.

He’s the guy who does what you need him to on any given night. While that may sound obvious, it’s actually a lot easier to have a player do in theory than in practice. Consider this, Harris has seen his scoring output drop from his career high last season (17.1 points per game to 14.2) and he’s playing nearly three minutes less as well (32 minutes a night).

That kind of goes against giving a guy a lot of money to stick around for four more years right?

Clearly though Harris understands that, while some of his own personal numbers may dip, as long as he’s plugging the holes in this team’s play every night, they stand a better chance of winning more games.

Whereas Nikola Vucevic can rebound at a great rate and Evan Fournier and Victor Oladipo can score points quickly, Harris takes over both of these roles if other players are struggling.

That type of player and the consistency with which he’s performing this role is a large reason the Magic are winning more games this season. Harris has started every game for his team this year, and he’s taken over when others have gone down with injuries or through playing poorly. Further proof of him taking over when needed can be seen in some of his numbers as well.

Harris has led his team in scoring four times and rebounding six times through 23 games, and really he’s playing as well as he ever has. Some of those occasions leading the team in rebounding came when Vucevic was out through injury, further proof that he steps in and does whatever is needed if another player is missing.

Also worth noting is the fact that, although he’s not on the floor to provide assists, he’s averaging a career-high 1.9 per game.

While that’s a small amount, when you consider Elfrid Payton has also had his struggles this season, you realize that every little input helps. It’s these less obvious contributions that are getting the Magic over the line, particularly in close games.

So while comparing him to somebody like Draymond Green may appear a stretch, the one similarity they both have is that they do what their team needs of them in order to win. That’s hard to put a price on.

Beyond the fact that the Magic are a better team and Harris is a reason for their moderate success this season, his own personal numbers look even better in places too. He’s averaging 7.3 rebounds per game and is shooting 83 percent from the free throw line, both career highs.

His Player Efficiency Rating of 16.7 ties his best mark as a professional while his defensive plus/minus of plus-1.0 marks the first time it’s not been a negative number in his career.

That’s actually more important than it may appear given that it’s such a small number. It means Harris is no longer a liability defensively, and when you combine that with his career high in rebounding, it shows us that he’s really working on that end of the court. That small improvement has helped the Magic to become a top 10 defensive unit in the league.

Having a wing player like Harris who can also defend other wings adequately is important for this team going forward too.

Obviously there are areas Harris can improve on as well, and shooting 30 percent from three point range is a notable decline from 36 percent last year. Perhaps more puzzling is the fact he’s taking less shots per game (again not a bad thing as he no longer needs to be that go to guy for scoring he was at times last year) yet his shooting percentages as a whole or down.

When you’re taking fewer shots but also seeing the rate at which they’re going in fall as well, that’s a worry.

To be fair though, it’s harder to find an offensive rhythm when you see less of the ball and are expending energy doing other things on the court for your team. Which is what’s happened here. Harris has become a more well-rounded player, and his team is benefitting from this.

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The proof can be seen not only in his own personal stats, but in how this team has become better on both ends of the court and is winning more games. That won’t always be credited to Tobias Harris, but when you look at all he’s doing on any given night, he deserves as much credit as anybody. He’s quietly been this team’s most consistent player so far this season.