Tobias Harris' Revitalization Fueling Pistons' Win Streak
Despite a slow start in 2024, Tobias Harris has been one of the best players on the Pistons since the start of 2025 and the loss of Jaden Ivey.
The Detroit Pistons are on fire.
They have won four in a row and are 8-2 in their last 10 games.
Even with the devastating loss of Jaden Ivey to a broken left fibula – an injury that could cost him the remainder of the 2025 season – the Pistons have remained hot.
The All-Star level play of Cade Cunningham has been a catalyst to this surge from Detroit. But he has not done it on his lonesome.
Several players have stepped up since Detroit departed for its Western Conference road trip in late December.
Jalen Duren has had several strong performances as of late. Malik Beasley continues to score in bunches and make big shots after big shots when called upon. Ausar Thompson is making history – literally. In Detroit’s win over Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves, Thompson recorded 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 steals while shooting a perfect 5-5 from the floor. He is the only player ever to record such a statline.
But since the start of the new year, no other non-Cade Cunningham Piston has been better than Tobias Harris.
Harris has averaged 18.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game throughout this four-game winning streak. He is shooting 56.5% from the field and 58.8% from the 3-point line. These numbers are likely unsustainable – at least efficiency-wise – but Harris has stepped up in a big way in the absence of Ivey.
For comparison, Harris has averaged 13.4 points on 44.6/35.2/86.1 shooting splits this season. He has not averaged less than 14 points per game in a season since 2012-13, his second year in the league. His 3-point percentage has risen a bit due to a recent shooting surge, but even at his current rate, it would be his worst mark from the outside since 2016-17. Ironically, that was his last full season with the Pistons in his first tenure.
Harris is playing at the level many had hoped for when the team etched him to a two-year contract this past offseason. He was Detroit’s “marquee” acquisition in the summer, but up until this point, he had been posting his worst numbers since the 2012-13 season.
He is not going to generate a ton of offense for himself, not at this point in his career at least, but if he can be efficient in catch-and-shoot opportunities and finish around the rim, he will continue to be a boon for Detroit’s offense.
On the season, Harris has shot 39.4% in catch-and-shoot situations. In his last four games, he shot 66.7%.
Within 10 feet from the basket, Harris has shot just 57.2% on the season. In his last four games, he shot 73.7.%.
Harris’s efficiency level is likely unsustainable, but if he can find a middle ground between what he has shot on the season and how he has shot since the turn of the calendar, the Pistons will be in a better place for it.
Detroit is trending up. Currently, the Pistons sit at 9th in the conference but are only one game out of 5th place. A playoff appearance may be obtainable for an organization that won 14 games just one season ago.
Tobias Harris is playing a big role in Detroit’s turnaround, and he will need to continue to do so if this team’s magical postseason push is going to continue.