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Three Improvements Tobias Harris Can Make to become ‘More Melo’

By Brett David Roberts

Feb 21, 2014; Orlando, FL, USA; New York Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony (7) is guarded by Orlando Magic small forward Tobias Harris (12) in the first quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: David Manning-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 21, 2014; Orlando, FL, USA; New York Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony (7) is guarded by Orlando Magic small forward Tobias Harris (12) in the first quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: David Manning-USA TODAY Sports /
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3) Scoring Effectively in Isolation Sets

Lastly, this is probably the least easy for Harris to add: Anthony is a master at isolation offense and one of the best in the league at creating his own shot.

Harris scored 55 percent of his buckets on assists from teammates, while Anthony was at just 38 percent. For 3-pointers, Harris relied on an assist 96.6 percent of the time (!), while Anthony was just 78.7 percent.

Both these stats are very illustrative of the fact Anthony is one of the best players in the NBA at creating his own shot.

Harris may isolate a lot, but the shots he is hitting are often not the ones he gets himself. Otherwise, he would have hit more than three percent of his threes self-created.

Obviously, it is asking a lot of Harris to expect him suddenly to become an elite isolation scorer. But he has been billed as a scorer since jetting Tennessee after just one NCAA season, and he is still improving at now 23 years old.

Harris has a lot of the same talents as Anthony and the confidence to go with it. So, while it may seem unreasonable to ask Anthony-level isolation it is the kind of expectation that accompanies a contract like his.

While the numbers are fairly reflective that Harris is fitting in with his teammates, a No. 1 option has to be able to create his own shots in isolation or drive and create for others — another area Harris struggles.

That is really the next step for Tobias, because he is not all that bad at it truthfully. By all accounts, he is the best on Orlando’s roster at creating when it is cleared out for him.

Even so, Harris is still passing on a lot of good looks in the mid-range and really only attempting threes when the ball is kicked out or swung on the perimeter. He is not just taking guys on the wing and drilling it in their faces off the dribble like Anthony, or even James Harden. And yes, we are now comparing Harris to an eight-time All Star and the runner-up for the league’s MVP award and the NBPA’s MVP award winner — but it is high time those expectations start.

Next: Time to deliver