The Atlanta Hawks need to stop Tobias Harris
The Atlanta Hawks have been one of the best teams this season when it comes to perimeter defense. They have also had one of the best rim-protectors in the game in Clint Capela. However, he is being kept quite busy trying to stop Joel Embiid.
Because of the dominance of Embiid, he has sometimes had two and three defenders on him to stop him from impacting the game. Unfortunately for the Hawks, Embiid has been able to find the open man for an easy bucket.
Due to Tobias Harris’s defender often being the man to help, he has become a dominant force in the series. He has changed his game up to suit the circumstances of the Hawks gameplan and they have simply not had an answer for the nine-year veteran.
How the Atlanta Hawks can stop Tobias Harris
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So the question currently stands, how do you stop a player who is averaging 23.6 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.3 steals in 34.6 minutes per game. He is so effective at making himself available in the best position for the team that he can hurt you over and over again.
Harris is shooting the ball incredibly well. He is shooting the ball at 53.8 percent from the floor, 37.0 percent from deep, and 82.1 percent from the line. However, in the Hawks series, Harris has changed his game, only shooting the ball from deep six times in the first three games.
As a result, he is averaging 21.3 points per game on 60.4 percent shooting from the floor. The problem is that he is in fact making Embiid more effective. He is averaging 35.3 points per game while shooting the ball at over 50.0 percent from the floor.
Next. The Imapct of Danny Green missing the series. dark
This is where changing the defensive assignment on Embiid may help slow down Harris. The Hawks are not going to win the series if they keep trying the same thing that has lost them the last two games.