Tobias Harris Helps Detroit Pistons Make Playoff Push

The Orlando Magic trading Tobias Harris to the Detroit Pistons will give the Pistons the needed upgrade to make a playoff push. Here is how Harris will make an immediate impact.

The Detroit Pistons have acquired Orlando Magic forward Tobias Harris for guard Brandon Jennings and forward Ersan Ilyasova, according to ESPN‘s Chris Broussard. Broussard’s report comes 18 minutes after Sheridan Hoops‘ Michael Scotto reported that the teams were discussing the deal.

Pistons head coach and president of basketball operations, Stan Van Gundy, has repeatedly said that he won’t make a move unless it helps the Pistons make a playoff push. Acquiring Harris from the Magic will bring exactly that, a needed upgrade to make a playoff push. If there was any doubt in Van Gundy’s abilities to improve the Pistons and turn them around, this is the type of move that could restore faith in a rather thirsty fan base.

The Pistons currently sit 0.5 games behind the Charlotte Hornets for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference standings. Adding Harris make the Pistons a more complete team and give them an added edge over the teams jockeying for a final playoff spot.

Harris, 23, is averaging 13.7 points and 7.0 rebounds per game at the power forward position this season. Expect Harris to stay there with the departure of Ersan Ilyasova. He’s only shooting 31.1 percent from three-point range, but that could improve under Van Gundy.

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Harris is here for the long haul with the Pistons. He signed a four-year extension with the Magic last summer that will keep him with the team. Adding Harris gives the Pistons a solution at power forward and allows Van Gundy to address other issues this offseason. It also gives the Pistons a bright future, allowing Reggie Jackson, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Stanley Johnson, Marcus Morris, Andre Drummond and Harris all to develop together as a part of the team’s core.

The Pistons have been struggling the since the 2016 calendar year, and Ilyasova has been a part of those struggles. He was averaging a plus/minus of -5.4 in both months, which consists of 19 games. His offensive rating dropped from 109 in January to 100 in February, and his defense hasn’t been much better. He went from a 108 defensive rating to a 110 defensive rating in February. While both ratings are also dependent on team success, Ilyasova also plays a key part in that.

Harris is a two-way player that will be an immediate impact on both ends of the court for the Pistons. He has a steal and block percentage of 1.5 percent each, which is a slight improvement over Ilyasova (1.3 steals and 1.4 blocks). Harris, who is 6-foot-9, will sacrifice a little bit of size but adds strength in replacing Ilyasova.

Offensively, Harris has the ability to post-up or play as a face up power forward. He is experienced on the block with the ability to step out and hit a jump shot. He is more versatile on the offensive end than Ilyasova, who was predominantly a three-point shooter.

Harris is young, and development is going to be key for his long-term success with the Pistons. He is in his fifth NBA season and he has seen rapid growth through his first four full seasons in the NBA. As a rookie he averaged 5.0 points per game. Last season he was scoring 17.1 points per game, so his offensive game has seen a much bigger boost.

Harris shot 36.4 percent from three-point range as a small forward last season. If he can get back around 35 percent in Van Gundy’s system, he will improve offensively as a power forward and could be modeled into Ryan Anderson, whose career was launched by Van Gundy in Orlando.

Both players have similar frames and skill sets. Harris is 6-foot-9, 235 pounds and Anderson is 6-foot-10, 240 pounds. Both can use their strength in the post or athleticism on the wing to get to the basket or knockdown a mid-range or three-point shot.

If Harris is willing to be coachable, which he has shown over the years, he could develop into the next big star in this league. But for now, the Pistons are getting an upgrade at the power forward position and a solid two-way player that will help the Pistons make a playoff push.

What It Means For The Bench:

Trading Brandon Jennings means that Steve Blake is going to be seeing a lot more minutes off the bench. Blake has not received much playing time since the return of Jennings, who missed the first three months of the season with an Achilles injury. Blake has a 10.2 PER and played well, despite what the numbers show.

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Playing on one of the worst benches this season hasn’t helped Blake’s numbers from a statistical standpoint. If there is one silver lining, it’s that he has a 28.8 assist rating, which is impressive in playing with the worst bench in the league. The Pistons bench is tied for last in points per game, scoring 13.9 points per game.

Once the Pistons return Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who has been sidelined with a groin injury, that frees up a go-to scorer on the bench with Johnson. KCP is expected to return to the starting lineup on Friday, according to NBA.com, which is good news for the Pistons’ depth.

The bench is going to be needed to keep the Pistons in games. They have had a problem with sacrificing leads and forcing the starters to play a large amount of minutes. With KCP’s injury, Van Gundy found that he has another weapon in Darrun Hilliard

Hilliard, a rookie, is averaging 17.0 minutes per game in the month of February due to KCP’s injury. Hilliard is scoring 7.0 points per game and has a true shooting percentage of 60.8 percent. His last three games have been most impressive with a career-high 13 points against the Toronto Raptors, a career-high six assists against the Denver Nuggets and shooting 50 percent from the field in all three games.

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The future got a lot brighter on Tuesday for the Pistons. Adding Harris for Ilyasova and Jennings, who were looking like they were no longer a part of the team’s long-term plans, may be a trade that ultimately ends the Pistons seven-year playoff drought.