Harkless has proven he can shoot before. He shot something like 38% from downtown his rookie year. He had somewhat consistent minutes back then. Evidence suggests the more he plays, the better he shoots.
Harkless has something in his eyes that makes me like him. He reminds me a bit of a non-crazy version of Meta World Peace.
liked him since first game i saw him play this season. i love hustle players. dude is every where and always has good position even on bigger players for rebounds. but then again, i dont disown blazer players because of one or a couple bad games.
Another solid night, and one of his better defensive efforts. He really fills the passing lanes well, something we haven't really had this season. Small things like that get magnified in the playoffs
A bit, but Harkless is a bit edgier than JK25 when on the court. Athletically and hustle-wise though they are very close.
In another thread I compared him, stylistically, to a mix of Kersey and Clyde because he has the same sort of smoothness to his game Clyde had. From early on in the season I thought it was foolish not to start Harkless. It was easy to see that he was better as a starter, than as a bench player. And he seemed to play really well off of Lillard. I think Lillard/Harkless have an under-the-radar connection on the floor that will only improve over time. He's GOT to be our starting SF next season from Day 1. Dame/CJ/Harkless - those three will be the new Terry/Clyde/Jerome. If Davis puts up 1,000 shots a day and develops a decent mid-range he can be our Buck.
love what Hard is doin! Perhaps we need an AMINU apprec threat as well the way he has been bringin it of late. Nice to see our forwards playin so well!
Another thing that makes Harkless great; he commits 3.0 fouls per 36 minutes. Exceptional for a player of his defensive impact. We aren't putting other teams in the bonus early in quarters; nor giving them easy free throw attempts. I can't stand it when announcers say we need to "make them prove it at the line". How about we make them prove it on the court where guys brick shots all the time? Compare that to our worst player who leads the team with 4.9 fouls. Thats the difference between a foul every 12 minutes or a foul every 7.3 minutes. Another way of thinking about it is Harkless goes 4.7 minutes of a quarter without fouling compared to our high foul rate player. Those are the things that don't show up in shooting percentages or scoring average but have a major impact on the game.
I'm a big fan of Harkless but I don't think it was a mistake to not start him. It is a big adjustment for Stotts and the team to get comfortable with such a small lineup if you have Aminu and Harkless starting at the 3 and 4. A great example of why was last night. We got completely manhandled down low and on the boards. That is tough to watch and not want to move to a bigger lineup. I credit Stotts for learning, adjusting and using Harkless in the right situations.
It reminds me of the forward version of our guards. Dame and CJ somewhat replicate each other and cause a pick-your-poison moment for the other team. Harkless and Aminu can switch seamlessly and both really disrupt passing lanes. Both can hit the three and both can slash to the hoop.
Harkless surprises other players with his length. They think they can get a shot past him or stop him from getting to the rim and he's already there. The guy is blossoming and we're reaping the benefits.
I just had a weird thought: maybe it's a GOOD thing that he doesn't have a great 3-point shot. If he did Terry might have him camping on the perimeter, rather than constantly moving to the open spots on the floor, and creating passing lanes which he translates into high-percentage shots. It's nice to have him build his foundation as a motion-oriented player, to which he can later add the outside shot.
I always thought the Blazers should do the Aminu/Harkless front court. Many of us have been calling for Aminu to move to the 4. I really hope we resign Harky.
If they could shoot a little better, I would be in 100% agreement. However, neither are done improving, and hopefully, their shots will be one of the things they improve upon.
Yeah, thankfully they're showing improvement at open shots, they should work on running off screens this summer though
So now you're criticizing Stotts for moves he didn't make if players had skills they don't have? Impressive dedication!
Just thinking about how everybody hated that Nic was always camped on the perimeter. That could have been Harkless' role if he was a good 3-point shooter. As it is, I'm happier with him not being a 3-point shooter...but would still like him to add it to his repertoire.
