Los Angeles Clippers Mid-Season Grades: Tobias Harris

Defense – B-

Harris’ defense isn’t anything to write home about. He’s pretty run of the mill, posting 0.8 steals and 0.3 blocks per game. He’s not bad, in part due to his athleticism, but there is definitely room for improvement. On nights where the Clippers play elite forwards, expect Tobias to spend the majority of minutes guarding them over Danilo Gallinari.

Even though it’s somehow his 7th season in the NBA, Tobias is just now entering his prime. There is still time for his defensive game to improve and it very well could under Doc Rivers.

I bumped Tobias up to a B- because despite his deficiencies on the defensive end, you can tell he does make an effort. According to NBA.com’s advanced stats, he ranks 38th in the league in contested shots per game. He stays near the defender and is more often than not able to get a hand up to defend the shot.