<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>OAKLAND -- Warriors forward Al Harrington has a most unusual problem. Where the overwhelming majority of NBA players -- if they're being totally candid -- will tell you they don't get to shoot the ball often enough, Harrington has the exact opposite problem: He's sick of doing precious little other than hoisting 3-point shots. Harrington is third overall on the Warriors this season with 257 treys attempted, and on a per-minute basis, he leads the team, taking 9.4 every 48 minutes. But he still longs for the days when he did more than simply work the edges of the court. "No, I'm not OK with it," Harrington said of his duties as a 3-point specialist. "But that's what coach asked of me, and that's what's going to keep me on the court, so that's what I'm going to do." Harrington came to the Warriors a little more than a year ago as a versatile forward, a 6-foot-9, 250-pounder with the ability to effectively post up smaller defenders and skirt around more lumbering ones on the way to the basket. He arrived at training camp in October eager to show off the hook shot he had added over the summer to his pre-existing arsenal of low-post weapons. But as the most accurate 3-point shooter on the team (knocking down 40.5 percent of his attempts), Harrington has seen his job requirements be distilled down to one goal. Of his 554 shots this season, 257 have been 3-pointers (46.4 percent). In his previous nine years, only 11.3 percent of his shots were treys. "Obviously, I'm not an inside player any more. We all know that," Harrington said two weeks ago. "At the end of the day, I could take a 3 every time I touch the ball. ... It's a balancing act that I'm trying to get within myself, but also trying to figure out what coach wants, because sometimes he wants me to shoot it every time. I've just got to find that even ground." Nelson makes no apologies for his single-minded sense of purpose when it comes to Harrington. And with the recent addition of forward-center Chris Webber, it's likely that Harrington will be called upon even less often to venture into the paint. "He's the easiest guy to get open on the 3s, because a bigger guy is covering him," Nelson said. "So as long as we know where he is, we'll find him and get him some shots there. ... I think we've got to keep the game as simple as we can. I just want him to be aggressive, and when he has his shot, shoot it and don't really worry about anything else." Although Harrington dislikes the lack of variety in his offensive repertoire, teammate Stephen Jackson appreciates the way he's thrown himself into his duties. "I just think now coach wants him to be more of a scorer than a passer and a playmaker. That's the biggest difference," Jackson said. "Al plays on the perimeter a lot, and his game has become 3-point shooting, but he's our best 3-point shooter on the team, besides when Marco (Belinelli) is on the court, and that's what we need him to do. I think he's embraced that role." To a point, he does. Harrington has been trying hard to catch Nelson's eye during the Warriors' five-day "minicamp" with everything but his 3-point shooting. The team's scrimmages have seen Harrington overpowering defenders on his drives to the rim and even bringing the ball upcourt in traffic on multiple occasions. "I'm just trying to bring my versatility back, because there's so many other things I can do on the court, and I feel like if I can get to that, I'll make this team even better," Harrington said. "I've been trying to mix it up more. And hopefully, as coach sees me doing that, he'll gain some confidence in me and I'll be in a position to make plays, instead of just shooting the ball all the time." Note: Forward Austin Croshere (sore lower back) was in good spirits after his second straight day of full participation in practice and said he hopes to play Thursday against Chicago. Although he has been shelved three different times this season because of back problems, Croshere said he isn't worried about a fourth flare-up.</div> Source: Contra Costa Times
Al needs to hang in there, CWebb has a 1 year deal, and if he learns some passing skills from Webberand hones that mid-range jumper, then he can essentially be the same player as Webb a year or 2 down the road.
Al Harrington has never really been a passer, but when he does, it's usually too risky, even for Barnes' and Sjax's tastes. I'd love to see Al develop a more versatile game, but he needs to start to rebound, get to the line, hit foul shots, and play D. If that's not his game, then well we need another player. That would be versatile for him if he could do those things consistently. It's yet to be seen if Webber can prove to be a better rebounder (even defender) at his age and stiffness than Al Harrington. Maybe Webber still has a little left and that all-star talent will show through on some nights. It's probably stuff that Al cannot replicate because his upside isn't there. Plus, not to get down on Al, but which of the two players has softer, quicker hands? I'd go with CWebb. You play D with your feet, but a guy with soft, quick hands can change the game in the post and also catch passes that are really hard to catch. I'm not sure if Nelson is telling Al to hit threes every time, but it would be nice if he could drive every once in a while when the entire team is shooting below 30% on threes. It doesn't make sense to take the shot that the other team will give you every time. Work for it and have your buddies back you up before the outlet pass opportunity gets clamped down (that means teammates have to react on the fly and move to the spots where the passer can expect his receiver to be and has a clear passing lane to throw the ball to). I'm not sure if Harrington is good enough in that drive and kick role, but Sjax, Baron, and Monta (now) have it down pat. It's a very simple, predictable game, but the Warriors are so quick, a lot of times it doesn't matter because the nba defenses have to play/react to the Warriors honestly, unless they are struggling from outside. And if we are struggling from outside, guys like Harrington have to drive more if they can't post up like Baron and Sjax does. Cwebb is probably a lot stronger than Al for that post-up power forward role because Cwebb is actually a real power forward. When Al was 6'9, 250 lbs, he still played like a weenie in terms of how big players should be rebounding and finishing inside. It seemed like the only big rebounds he came up with were his own misses when he tried to score inside!
Not trying to derail this thread, but I found this comment from SJax very interesting <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>but he's our best 3-point shooter on the team, besides when Marco (Belinelli) is on the court,</div>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (cpawfan @ Feb 7 2008, 04:12 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Not trying to derail this thread, but I found this comment from SJax very interesting <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>but he's our best 3-point shooter on the team, besides when Marco (Belinelli) is on the court,</div> </div> Sjax couldn't give credit to himself, but I'm sure Belinelli is great in practice ball. I like Marco's stroke, but it's like he needlessly fades away sometimes which puts him off target. If we watch how Peja or Ray Allen take their shots, they don't do that jumbo. It's just square up, boom. And if they're using the screens, they probably have to expect a defender coming, so maybe they do that... but not when there's no defender in sight. Now we all knew that Belinelli would pretty much suck as a defender because of his lateral mobility and his tendency to reach in, but he's got a great pass, drive, quick release type shooting game. He just needs to get stronger and drive more because when he does, his leaping ability and shot touch could help him get higher % points. This type of player should thrive in Nelson's system at some point because we're always in need of a guy that can create and shoot the ball.
