The Pistons came away with a win in Game 5, but still had to rely heavily on Tobias Harris as their second leading scorer. Harris finished the game with an efficient 23 points, but Detroit sorely needs to find other consistent scoring options besides himself and Cade Cunningham. If it wasn't for Harris' own scoring and a superhero effort from Cade, the Pistons would already be heading home now.
Tobias Harris shouldn't have to be the secondary scorer
It wasn't meant to be this way in this year's playoffs; Harris had taken a back seat to Jalen Duren as the team's secondary star. But Duren has been routinely shut down by the Magic in this series and it's forced Harris to step up. Fortunately for Detroit, Harris has been great so far on his way to averaging 20 points and 8 rebounds per game.
But there's still a lingering worry about Harris coming up short in the biggest games of the series. That's a familiar story for other fanbases that once had Harris on their teams. More importantly, even if Harris continues to score effectively in bunches, that still doesn't give Cunningham enough support to alleviate pressure from him.
Harris is also noticeably struggling in one key area: 3-point shooting. He's averaging just 17% from deep in the series through 5 games and contributing to Detroit's glaring weakness in that department. The Pistons clearly need to get more shooting on the court, but they can't afford to take Harris off for extended stretches because no one else can take up his scoring burden.
The Pistons need others to step up
Regardless of Harris' performances in upcoming games, other Pistons need to step up and pull their own weight. Duren is averaging barely half his usual scoring output: 10.2 points per game in the playoffs compared to 19.5 in the regular season. He's the first place to look for more scoring, but others can also help out.
The Pistons need to get better shooting and scoring from their other perimeter players who are getting regular minutes. Players like Duncan Robinson, Daniss Jenkins and Javonte Green haven't lived up to their regular-season shooting. Unlike Harris, those players don't have as many counters to score if they're not hitting their threes. For those shooters, their biggest adjustment needs to be simply hitting their threes.
Tobias Harris has certainly done his part for the Pistons. He has scored both in the rhythm of the offense and has created his own shot in emergency situations with the shot clock winding down. But his teammates and coaches need to find ways for others to produce rather than force Harris to be the second-highest scorer.
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