Hidden Tobias Harris skill may fuel Spurs' championship dreams

San Antonio Spurs newcomer Tobias Harris could be the perfect fit for a championship-caliber team with one underrated skill fueling those hopes. Harris is known for his offensive skill, particularly as a 3-point shooter, but he could be even more valuable to the Spurs than first thought.

According to Basketball University, Harris ranks among the NBA's best in possession value.

Essentially, the stat boils down to whether a team wins the turnover battle when a certain player is on the floor.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Harris ranks among the NBA's best in that category over a three-year span. It shouldn't come as a shock when you really think about it. Harris has historically been a very low-turnover player.

With Harris providing more offensive possessions and being able to score not only from three but also from mid-range and in the post, he adds more offense than he takes away.

The Spurs can use a low-turnover scorer like Tobias Harris

In a lot of ways, Harris could be Harrison Barnes 2.0 for the Silver and Black. He isn't as good of a shooter as Barnes, but he's a more versatile offensive player who can score in multiple ways.

I recently compared him to former Spurs player Rudy Gay due to his scoring versatility and ability to take care of handling the ball. That would be terrific for the Spurs.

Having him come off the bench and provide instant offense without being careless with the ball could have made a huge impact on the Spurs during their NBA Finals run. Instead, he'll come in with a clearly defined role and has proven over his 15-year career that he is more than capable of providing what San Antonio needs.

Harris could help the Spurs finally solve their turnover issues

It's ironic that San Antonio actually ranked among the NBA's best at limiting turnovers since they had plenty of problems in the playoffs. Who can forget the first two games of the Western Conference Finals? San Antonio turned the ball over a staggering 44 times, with Stephon Castle responsible for 20 of those giveaways.

Had San Antonio not been so reckless with the ball, they could have beaten OKC in Game 1 in regulation and likely beaten them in Game 2. Instead of a seven-game series, the Spurs could have finished the Oklahoma City Thunder in five or six.

In turn, they would have been better prepared to play the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals. Turnovers have a carryover effect. The more turnovers a team has, the more defensive possessions they have to guard against.

The Spurs limiting turnovers can be doubly impactful. Harris helping them win the possession game means more scoring opportunities, which could help their offense flourish.

It also means fewer transition opportunities for opponents, resulting in teams having a score against the Silver and Black's set defense. That could juice their defense, with Harris' aversion to turnovers possibly helping the Spurs' on both sides of the ball.

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