107-97 win<\/a> over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Thursday\u2019s Eastern Conference semifinals. Harris being in the midst of one of his best postseason stretches is a main reason Detroit holds a 2-0 series lead over Cleveland.<\/p>\nHarris has seamlessly stepped into the second scorer role alongside Cunningham. He\u2019s hit timely buckets, holds teammates accountable and aids Cunningham in powering the Pistons\u2019 offense. But none of that would be possible without the inner peace Harris has achieved off the court.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an all-day thing. Meditation, staying in the moment, all self-progression type things,\u201d Harris told The Athletic while strolling to the Little Caesars Arena family room to greet his loved ones. \u201cIt\u2019s really about what you feed your mind on a daily basis. \u2026 If you don\u2019t have peace within, all of the other stuff will be affected.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know I have peace within with what I\u2019m doing out here, and that allows me to just go have fun. I see my son every day, and that\u2019s just my reminder. He\u2019s so young and doesn\u2019t know about any of what\u2019s going on. He\u2019s always sleeping at the games, but I look at it like \u2014 he has fun all day, he smiles all day, I\u2019m going to go out there and have fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris has blossomed into a big brother figure for the bulk of the locker room, hence the \u201cunc\u201d nickname he\u2019s been dubbed with. But he shares a special bond with Daniss Jenkins, who\u2019s getting his first taste of playoff basketball and the obstacles that come with it. Jenkins credits Harris with helping him stay sharp mentally in his role behind Cunningham.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s really my guy,\u201d Jenkins said of Harris after his 14-point performance off the bench. \u201c(It\u2019s) all the little things. Just talking to me because it\u2019s not easy playing behind the main guy when you\u2019re in that position. So it\u2019s just all the little things to keep my mental right. To stay with it and stay poised through all the ups and the downs.\u201d<\/p>\n
As close as Harris and Jenkins have become, Harris\u2019 leadership extends past just the 24-year-old guard. Harris challenged the entire team once the Pistons fell into their 3-1 hole during the first round against the Orlando Magic. He said Detroit was being \u201ca little too casual\u201d and challenged his teammates to look themselves in the mirror and be better.<\/p>\n
The Pistons have been on a five-game win streak since Harris\u2019 comment. The reverence he\u2019s earned in the locker room that allows him to call his team out at a postgame news conference derives from the bonds he\u2019s established within it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey bring me a lot of life. I tell my wife all the time all the time, \u2018I love being a part of this team, I love being with these guys.’\u201d Harris said. \u201cOn the floor, off the floor, the communication, the way we all are friends, really. I\u2019m the older guy, but I look at our team like life-long friends outside of hooping \u2014 that\u2019s rare. I\u2019ve played with a lot of guys. I\u2019ve probably only called a few of them real friends.\u201d<\/p>\n
Part of Harris\u2019 leadership style, though, focuses on empowering his younger counterparts in the process.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy thing about leading is setting an example of how to work, how to take care of your body,\u201d Harris said. \u201cBut I like to let these guys have their voice, because they are the next group of leaders for this team. When I\u2019ve got to jump in and lock in on the focus level, I\u2019ll say what I\u2019ve got to say. But I\u2019m all about, if it ain\u2019t winning culture, I\u2019m going to say something.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though Cunningham is the Pistons\u2019 present and future as a leader and overall focal point, Harris has directly contributed to his growth, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cMan, he\u2019s been great in a lot of ways,\u201d Cunningham said of Harris after his 25-point, 10-assist double-double. \u201cHe\u2019s shown me things, on and off the court \u2014 professionalism, ways to make my life easier and do my job more efficiently. On the court, he\u2019s so versatile. We can put him in so many different spots.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe can space us and shoot the 3, we can put him on the block and he goes and gets us one. We went to him a couple times, I think, early fourth quarter to go get us some buckets. Just the ability to put him in so many different spots at the four position is great for us. His professionalism and the way that he leads is just the cherry on top.\u201d<\/p>\n
The vision Harris saw for himself when returning to Detroit is coming to fruition. He\u2019s played a vital role in the Pistons\u2019 two-year turnaround since first suiting up last season. But the level he\u2019s playing at now not only validates Detroit\u2019s refusal to gauge interest in him at the trade deadline<\/a>. It confirms he\u2019s crucial to the Pistons\u2019 hopes of contention.<\/p>\n\u201cI\u2019ve learned through the course of my career, like, how do you want to go down when it\u2019s all said and done?\u201d Harris said. \u201cWhen I came here I\u2019d achieved a lot of great things through the course of my career. I want to achieve a championship, and I want to be able to be at my best to do that. It\u2019s about taking care of my body, taking advantage of the moment and being uber confident in everything I\u2019m doing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DETROIT \u2014 When Tobias Harris signed with the Detroit Pistons in July 2024, he didn\u2019t just want his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":630911,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[4576,355,99],"class_list":["post-630910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-detroit-pistons","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=630910"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630910\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/630911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=630910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=630910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=630910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}