Pistons' Tobias Harris remaking his playoff reputation

The Detroit Pistons have won five straight playoff games and their veteran forward has been a huge part of it. After seven straight games of 20 or more points, Tobias Harris is changing an unfair narrative about himself.

Perhaps due to having a big contract, Harris was often a scapegoat for playoff losses as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers. With the Pistons, he's become a reliable No. 2 scorer behind Cade Cunningham while providing defense and rebounding for his red-hot team.

Tobias Harris was better in the postseason than his reputation

Harris often drew the ire of 76ers fans when the team inevitably fell short in the playoffs, despite often playing well. In 2021, Harris averaged 21.8 points and 8.5 rebounds in the NBA playoffs. In 2019, he put up 15.5 points and 9.2 rebounds as the Sixers' third option behind Joel Embiid and Jimmy Butler, and in 2022, he averaged 16.9 and shot 38.6 percent on threes as the team's fourth option.

He had a rough time in a four-game playoff sweep in 2020 with Ben Simmons out, and scored in single-digits in 2024. In that 2020 series, Harris played through a scary head injury, 

Overall, Harris actually averages more points in the playoffs than the regular season. This year, he's scoring 21.3 points in the playoffs compared to 13.3 in the regular season. He's also making the Cleveland Cavaliers defense pay for loading up against Cunningham by taking advantage of mismatches.