Tobias Harris had his finest showing of the season yet in a victory against the Magic, finishing with 23 points to help lead the Pistons. He was the team's leading scorer at halftime and kept the offense afloat while Cade Cunningham struggled early. Cade eventually bounced back for a dominant final stat line, but Tobias' steady hand was crucial to keeping the Pistons within striking range until Cade erupted.
Tobias Harris is a veteran leader and reliable scorer
The Pistons have struggled offensively to start the season, but their 135 points against Orlando could signal a turnaround coming. The team's lack of secondary creators and scorers outside of Cunningham has been a glaring weakness. With multiple non-shooters on the court at all times, none of the Pistons have had much space to operate and points have been hard to come by.
Many of the Pistons' top players are young, and their lack of readiness to start games has held the team back. Harris should have a prominent role in solving these issues. He has the most experience of anyone on the roster, so he needs to be providing leadership to get the team locked in from opening tip.
He's also capable of creating his own shot in tough situations, which will be necessary sometimes as defenses blitz Cade. A few post-up possessions for Tobias to start the game go a long way in relieving pressure from Cade and Ausar Thompson as ball-handlers. Both are prone to turnovers when pressed aggressively, so Tobias has a responsibility to help out how he can.
Against the Magic, Harris scored all 23 of his points in the first three quarters. At times, he looked like the best player on the court against a number of young stars on both teams. Harris took advantage of less experienced Magic defenders to catch the ball in prime scoring position, and beat them with both physicality and skill.
With Jaden Ivey missing more time and no other clear reliable second scorer on the team, the Pistons will need more performances like this from Harris. Hopefully Cade Cunningham will find his footing again for consistent games start to finish, but he will still have struggles at times. Harris is one of the few other Pistons with a proven scoring bag, and it will need to be displayed when the offense is struggling.
As the veteran leader of the team, Tobias Harris needs to inspire the Pistons to solve their first-quarter problems with his voice and play on the court. By showing that he's ready to play at his best right from the start of the game, he can motivate his young teammates to give more effort immediately rather than waiting until later in the game.