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Harris Showcasing His All-Around Growth

Josh Cohen
Digital News Manager

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By John DentonNov. 20, 2014

ORLANDO – Not long after posting one of the best all-around stat lines of his career – 24 points, five steals, five rebounds, four assists and three 3-pointers – to boost his numbers to career-high levels in every category, Orlando Magic forward Tobias Harris pointed to the only statistic that really mattered to him.

``Most importantly,’’ Harris said, referring to Monday’s defeat of Detroit, ``those numbers came in a victory.’’

A potent scorer during his first three seasons in the NBA, Harris was challenged this past offseason by the Magic front office and coaching staff to greatly expand his game and become a more all-around player. Orlando expected Harris – a dazzling athlete because of his rare blend of size and speed – to be as active defensively as he was on the offensive end. They wanted him to not only look for his own shots, but to also look for teammates with passes when the defense collapses. And, most importantly, they wanted Harris to use his legendary work ethic to not only make himself better, but also make the Magic better as a whole.

Harris, who is still only 22 years old, responded to the challenge by changing his body and changing his game for the betterment of the Magic (5-8). The versatile forward heads into Friday’s game against the Hornets (4-8) in Charlotte averaging career-bests in points (18.9 ppg.), rebounds (7.8 rpg.), assists (1.8) and steals (1.25). Also, Harris’ work to expand his shooting range has been shown in him hitting 43.8 percent from 3-point range – something that is significant considering that he has never made more than 33.3 percent of his 3-point shots in a season.

``I’ve taken the next step in my game and the next level now is continuing to trust my teammates and trust that this whole thing is going to work out for us as a team as long as we play the right way,’’ Harris said. ``I’ve told all of the guys on the team, `You look better individually when we win as a team.’ So it really is all about winning.’’

Skeptics could potentially point to Harris being in a contract year as to the reason in his increased production, and they would mostly be wrong when it comes to the player who has been known for years as ``All Business’’ because of his serious, no-nonsense approach. When Harris and the Magic didn’t reach a contract extension prior to the Oct. 31 deadline, it meant that the fourth-year pro would be a restricted free agent on July 1. The Magic retain the right to match any contractual offer sheet that Harris might receive from another team in July.

All of the contractual stuff, Harris stressed, is well into the future and he said that his focus is locked in on helping the Magic make significant strides. Orlando has done just that so far, wiping out a 0-4 start with a recent stretch of three wins in four games prior to Wednesday’s ugly home loss to the loaded Los Angeles Clippers. Harris said his strong religious beliefs, his desires to win and the advice from first cousin and teammate Channing Frye help to keep his focus on the right things.

``I just use my faith to block out that (need to prove himself). God has a plan for me and I know that it’s all going to work out,’’ said Harris, who can usually be found before games laying on the locker room floor reading spiritual or motivational books. ``I come in here each and every day and my goal is to win. I know that if we win and we play the right way, all the other stuff will work itself out.’’

Frye, the older cousin of nine years, has tried to give Harris advice on a variety of topics since signing a four-year contract with the Magic as a free agent back in July. Frye said that while his role is fairly simplistic as a shooter and floor-spacer for the Magic, Harris’ is asked to be more of a driver, shooter and a playmaker who makes others better. A point that he’s tried to make to Harris is, ``Tobias is great at a lot of things, but I tell him to excel at one thing and let that dictate how you do everything else.’’

As for trying to relieve the pressure on a younger cousin who tends to press at times, Frye said: ``I just constantly tell him, `You be you and don’t worry about what happens. Carve out your niche for who you want to be as a player and don’t just be a contract-year guy; be an all-the-time guy and he’s doing that. Winners get paid – I said that since I first got here – and you want to be a winner.’’

Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said that it speaks to Harris’ maturity and seriousness as a basketball player that he accepted the challenges from last summer and he has expanded his game in almost every area.

``He’s trying to just be a better player overall,’’ said Vaughn, who drew up Harris’ game-winning, buzzer-beating basket in Philadelphia two weeks ago because of his confidence in the versatile forward. ``A lot of times when we talk about a player trying to get better everybody (looks) at the offensive end of the floor. I think defensively he’s taken some strides in the different matchups that he’s had throughout the course of the season so far. He’s taking pride in both ends of the floor. I’ve been pleased to see that from him.’’

Undoubtedly, Harris’s best quality as a player is his ability to score points in bunches – as he did on Wednesday night when he poured in 25 points in just three quarters of work. And because he has the power to post up, the quickness to drive by foes and the improved stroke to hit jumpers, Harris sometimes looks to take over games himself when he’s feeling it offensively.

But Harris said that he’s gone out of his way this season to become more of a willing passer and to be known as a player who can make others around him better. Accordingly, he’s had six games with multiple assists and games with five, four and three (twice) assists this season.

All of it, Harris stressed, is being done in the name of making the Magic into winners.

``One of the main focuses for me was making sure that we all play the right type of basketball and that’s team basketball,’’ he said. ``I’ve taken it upon myself to be the guy who takes that first step for everybody else. Especially in that first quarter, I want to make that extra pass, be patient and trust everyone. The coaches have told me over and over to keep trusting the system. I’ve been doing that, it’s helping my teammates and it’s had a ripple effect on everybody.

``The reason I’m focused and so locked in is because I want our group here to win,’’ Harris continued. ``Our coaches have put in a tremendous amount of time with us and they have given us the right plan and structure to help us win games. And for us as a team, it’s on us to go out there and execute and win games. The games where we’ve been locked in offensively and defensively, that’s when we have won. So we just have to be consistent with it and win games.’’