Playoff Tobias has answered call for Pistons: "I didn't come back to this organization to lose"

They call him 'Unc' for his age. At 33 years old, Tobias Harris has spent almost half his life in the NBA. He feels it and shows it in different ways. Sometimes it hurts, like when he was lying on his side beneath the Pistons' basket after twisting his ankle in their Game 5 win over the Magic in Round 1, or when he was flat on his back at the free throw line, grabbing his hip, early in their Game 2 win over the Cavaliers. For a moment Thursday night, as Harris grimaced in the glare of the LCA lights, his pain turned into fear, that the injury might be too much for his body to bear -- "but it's the playoffs," he'd say with a smile, "so I live for the 24 hours of recovery."

Harris rose to his feet, stayed on the floor and wound up scoring 20 points for the seventh straight game. If his game looks old, that's fine. Most times -- especially these times -- his age makes him sage.

"You know how much time you've put in over the years doing what you do, and he trusts that he's got a spot. He knows his game," J.B. Bickerstaff said after the Pistons took a 2-0 series lead over the Cavs. "There’s so many guys that think dribble-dribble-dribble-dribble-dribble-dribble-dribble is a game. Tobias knows, he's going to get you in the post, he might back you down, he might face you up, but he’s going to get to the same spot, rise up and knock it down."

Harris snuck inside for a couple lay-ups and knocked down a couple threes Thursday night. But he did a lot of his damage in what's become no-man's-land in the NBA, inside the arc and outside the paint. When the Cavs briefly took the lead in the fourth quarter, the Pistons went right to Harris out of a timeout. He backed down Donovan Mitchell and answered with an 11-foot turn-around jumper. Later, Harris shook James Harden on the wing and connected on a fall-away in the lane to push the Pistons' lead to three, then drilled another turn-around jumper from the opposite block against Max Strus to stretch the lead to seven.

As defenses prioritize taking away three-pointers and rim opportunities in the playoffs, there are buckets to be found in the lost art of the midrange jump shot. Harris has gone from averaging 13.3 points and 10.5 field goal attempts per game in the regular season to 21.3 points and 16.8 attempts per game in the playoffs; he's taking almost twice as many twos per game.

"During the regular season, just go with the flow of what’s presented on a night-to-night basis. And here, just ready for the moment and whatever you can do to help the team," Harris said. "I said that early in the playoffs: if you have an open look, you gotta take it, if you have a mismatch, you gotta exploit it. When those opportunities come, those are moments, and if you pass them up that’s where you roll yourself out of rhythm."

This is the 15th season and 14th playoff series of Harris' career. It's just the third time he's scored at least 20 points in seven straight games. One of the two others was also in the playoffs, in 2021 with the 76ers. On the ropes against the Magic in the first round, the Pistons desperately needed another scorer to emerge next to Cade Cunningham to extend their season. Harris agreed that given the stakes, this is the best basketball of his career.

"I think what you guys are realizing is there’s two different seasons in the NBA: there’s the regular season and the playoffs, and two really different types of basketball," Harris said. "And for me, being with this group and being in this moment and taking advantage of the opportunities that are out there, I’m in a great flow and want to continue that."

This was the plan when Harris returned to Detroit two offseasons ago. Where most observers looked at the Pistons after a disastrous 14-win season and shielded their eyes, Harris saw an opportunity. He saw a roster rife with young talent, and the chance to help steer it to the playoffs. His first stint in Detroit lasted just two years, but left such a mark on Harris that Harris wanted to leave one of his own.

"I didn’t come back to this organization to lose," Harris said. "Coming back here, I was making the decision based upon the guys in this locker room and the talent level that was here. It was a huge goal of mine to help this group get to the playoffs and see what can happen."

The Pistons were hardened by last year's first-round heartbreak against the Knicks. Now they're two wins away from the conference finals for the first time since 2008. Everyone around Harris struggles to fully convey what he means to the team. The lessons off the court have been as valuable for young players like Cunningham as the contributions on the court. The steady voice in the locker room has been as crucial for the coaches as all the heady plays in the clutch.

"I can't put it into words," said Bickerstaff. "I've tried before. But we're not in this position if it isn't for him, and not just because of the basketball talent. His leadership, his willingness to show people what preparation looks like -- how do you take care of yourself, how do you eat, what do you do in the weight room, how do you work on your game -- he's a role model for our guys. If you don't have that from your veteran players, it's hard for young guys to grow, and grow the right way, and he enabled us to do that."

Harris garners immense respect from Cunningham, who plays something of an older game himself. The hip might be stiff and the ankle might be sore, but Harris is still getting to his spots. He's still taking and making his shots.

"He's so versatile," Cunningham said after Game 2. "He can space us and shoot the three. You can put him on the block and he goes and gets us one. We went to him a couple times early fourth quarter to go get us some buckets."

Harris took his time as he spoke with reporters in front of his locker Thursday night, as measured with his words as he is with the ball. He doesn't really do or say anything lightly, at least in the public eye. At the 'Unc' stage of his career, "being a part of the revival of this group, with these guys" means a lot to Harris. Their growth feels like his gain.

"And just going out there and having fun, playing basketball and enjoying it every day that I step in the building has been probably the greatest thing about being back here," Harris said. "Extremely grateful and appreciative of it."

Each time he drills a three, Harris holds his right hand to his ear in the shape of a phone. The Pistons weren't going anywhere this spring without another scorer. Playoff Tobias has answered the call.