LOS ANGELES – Tobias Harris and Boban Marjanovic may have the Tobi and Bobi show, but in Wednesday night's preseason home opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves, LA Clippers forward Harris and Danilo Gallinari displayed how great the duo can be if they stay healthy. Both players finished with an eerily similar stat line in the 128-101 victory.
Harris finished with 23 points, six rebounds, four assists, and a blocked shot on 7-of-10 shooting from the field while Gallinari finished with 22 points, six rebounds, four assists, and two blocks on 8-of-11 shooting. Each player took turns throughout the night going at their respective matchups and scoring with relative ease.
Throughout training camp as well as the early parts of the preseason, head coach Doc Rivers has said that when on the floor at the same time, Harris will play the three and Gallinari will play the four. Wednesday's game against the Timberwolves saw both players mix up their games with an array of drives to the basket, shots from the outside, and sweet passes that turned into assists.
“They're tough, and this is what we envisioned,” said Rivers of Harris and Gallinari. “Every night, you see that teams are really struggling trying to figure out which guy to put on which guy and those two figure it out early in terms of who has the advantage. They're just so unselfish, they just let the other guy go. I think it's fantastic.”
The 6-foot-10 Gallinari started his career a shooting guard, slowly transitioned into a small forward during his time with the Nuggets, and is now mostly used as a power forward. Harris, who stands an inch shorter at 6-foot-9, played the three and the four equally throughout his career. Now alongside a healthy Gallinari, the duo plans to create mismatches all game long and play through that.
“Tobias has a very high IQ,” said Gallinari. “I know how to play and he knows how to play. He knows what I like and I know what he likes. We've been talking a lot about what we need to do. He's a smart guy so when you talk to him, you understand right away what he wants. Its become very easy.
“That's the way that we want to play, the way we need to play, and something that we need to bring every night. We did it pretty well in the first games, we've been great in the first month in practice, so I'm looking forward to us playing like that in every game.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who made his Staples Center debut on Wednesday night, finished his impressive, all-around game with 12 points, three rebounds, and five assists. He wasn't surprised because this is something he's already known Gallinari and Harris could do after monthlong workouts and a week of training camp.
“Absolutely [this is what we envisioned],” Gilgeous-Alexander confidently relayed. “I feel like those guys are a little bit slept on in this league. I've seen it in training camp and workouts we've had before that. They're really special talents who can do a lot of things on the floor.”
The Clippers will likely rest one of or both players in their remaining preseason games over the next week, but Wednesday night provided a good example of just how great Harris and Gallinari could be when healthy and clicking on all cylinders.
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