Arguably the biggest Pistons loss of the offseason was Tobias Harris, who joined the San Antonio Spurs on a 2-year/$30 million contract. After making the Finals last season, the Spurs will have a primetime game on Christmas Day against the Knicks and give Harris the perfect platform to prove the Pistons wrong for letting him go. His veteran impact and reliable shot-making could go a long way towards helping another young team take the next step.
Harris can fill the Pistons with regret
Last season, Harris played an instrumental role in Detroit as the team’s secondary creator in the playoffs. The Pistons still haven’t properly replaced his role with anyone reliable, but are likely hoping for younger players to grow into it. Without Harris, the Pistons’ postseason and ensuing offseason would’ve looked a lot worse.
Of course, Harris had his fair share of weaknesses that hurt the Pistons at times too. But his ability to calmly create his own bucket even with poor spacing was consistently a needed trait in the playoffs. Given Detroit’s roster last season, he was arguably the perfect power forward for them at his contract level.
Now the Pistons have gone a different direction but it’s not guaranteed to work out. They’ve chosen to prioritize shooting among their veteran role players rather than shot creation. But if younger guys don’t make the right developments, Detroit will be left missing Harris, especially if he shows out on Christmas Day.
The NBA gave Harris a perfect stage
Obviously Christmas Day games are some of the most anticipated regular season matchups. But Harris also gets an additional luxury being in the middle of an intense Finals rematch between the Spurs and Knicks. And to top things off, he’s historically played well against New York.
In his last 8 games against the Knicks - including last season and the playoff series from the year prior - Harris is averaging 15 points and 8 rebounds per game plus about a steal and a block per contest. He was able to create his own looks against New York’s defense while also holding up surprisingly well against Karl Anthony-Towns as a defender with veteran toughness.
The Pistons played the Knicks fairly well the last two years and Harris’ presence was a big reason why. He helped take some pressure off Cade Cunningham while also hitting open looks and adding to Detroit’s natural physicality advantage. Those were all missing elements for the Spurs in the Finals and now Harris comes in to fill the void.
Tobias Harris was always going to be missed in Detroit for his locker room presence alone, but his on-court contributions can’t be ignored either. Come Christmas time, the Pistons could be at home watching him shine against the Knicks and wishing he was still on their team.
Add us as a preferred source on Google