After being acquired by the Orlando Magic as a part of the J.J. Redick trade last February, Tobias Harris flashed some incredible potential.
Still a 20-year-old sophomore, Harris went from averaging 4.9 points and two rebounds for the Milwaukee Bucks to averaging 17.3 points and 8.5 rebounds with the Magic. His minutes tripled, sure, but it's much harder to maintain 17-point, eight-rebound per-36 minute rates with a larger workload.
In any case, expectations were high for Harris entering his third season. Unfortunately, an ankle injury and then a re-aggravation of that same injury limited him to just a single game before mid-December.
As expected, Harris took some time to get going, find his rhythm and find his place within the Magic offense.
Well, consider those things problems of the past.
Harris exploded on Friday night, helping the Magic beat the Los Angeles Lakers 114-105 with an incredible 28-point, 20-rebound performance. He shot 9-of-15 from the floor and added four assists and a triple for good measure. The performance is two points shy of his career-high but the rebounding output is a new best, topping the 19 he grabbed in a 30-and-19 game back in April.
Suffice it to say, Harris has settled in of late:
| Tobias Harris | 2011-13 Bucks | 2012-13 Magic | 2013-14 to Jan 8 | Since Jan 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MPG | 11.5 | 36.1 | 30.2 | 37 |
| PPG | 4.9 | 17.3 | 11.1 | 17.8 |
| RPG | 2.3 | 8.5 | 6.6 | 9.8 |
| APG | 0.5 | 2.1 | 1.3 | 1.6 |
| BPG | 0.2 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 |
| FG% | 46.4% | 45.3% | 38.6% | 50.4% |
