The Detroit Pistons came up just short against the New York Knicks in game 3 of their first-round playoff series, ultimately losing by two in a game of big runs.
It was a nightmare night for a couple of guys, as Malik Beasley and Tobias Harris combined to go just 6-of-23 from the field in a game when the Knicks tightened up their defense on Cade Cunningham.
What the Pistons should take away from this is that they didn’t play close to their best game and still only lost by two points. If a couple of things break differently here and there, they would have won a game in which they shot poorly and committed 28 fouls, many of them of the boneheaded variety.
With Isaiah Stewart still out, the Pistons couldn’t afford any of their role players to disappear, which is what happened in the case of Tobias Harris, who got into early foul trouble and was never a factor in the game.
This was the knock on him after last season, and fair or not (it’s not), he will need to overcome that narrative for the Pistons to have a chance.
Tobias Harris has been a good playoff performer, and he must be again for the Pistons
Harris played very well in the first two games of the series, so let’s not act like last night was the norm. It’s also important to put his game into context, as he has a tough assignment defending Karl-Anthony Towns, so we shouldn’t expect monster scoring nights from Tobias every game.
He also got whistled for some tough fouls that limited his minutes early in the game and kept him out of a rhythm, so I am not worried about Tobias Harris, but the Pistons do need more.
Harris was pretty much run out of Philly last season after being made the scapegoat for the 76ers’ playoff failures.
He averaged just nine points per game in last year’s playoffs, punctuated by a zero-point effort in the deciding game against these very Knicks. Fans love nothing more than a narrative, even if it’s not fair or true, so the one around Harris became that he disappears in the big games.
Harris had a couple of rough games last season, but to act like this guy is a playoff choker is complete nonsense. He has averaged 16 points, 8 rebounds and 2.1 assists over 64 career playoff games, which is right in line with what Harris has done for his career in the regular season. Even the most consistent players have an off night.
How soon Philly fans forgot that this guy averaged nearly 22 points per game in a 12-game playoff run for them and was arguably their best player in three different playoffs.
The narrative about Harris isn’t true, but what is true is that the Pistons can’t afford another dud game from Tobias, as the Knicks are selling out to stop Cade and the Pistons need someone to step up.