WTF is going on with Harkless

Discussion in 'Portland Trail Blazers' started by illmatic99, Nov 16, 2017.

  1. Hoopguru

    Hoopguru Well-Known Member

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    good points. Now that the mantra is if your open shot it and we need more three's Mo Im sure will be more willing the shoot the ball or drive to the hoop.
     
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  2. PtldPlatypus

    PtldPlatypus Let's go Baby Blazers! Staff Member Global Moderator Moderator

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    Hey you :curse:--I'm offended by your use of the word "mantra". You need to change that to "person-tra".
     
  3. Hoopguru

    Hoopguru Well-Known Member

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    lmao...wow good get!
     
  4. Hoopguru

    Hoopguru Well-Known Member

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    Mom always taught me to use good man ners!
     
  5. Scalma

    Scalma Well-Known Member

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    Wonder if any of the local reporters dive into what the actual fuck the issue is, or is that too much to ask?

    Just a gut feeling, I think it’s more likely that he’ll have another surgery than him playing consistently again this season.
     
    illmatic99 likes this.
  6. hoopsjock

    hoopsjock Well-Known Member

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    The only way the local guys will figure out what is going on is if Woj cares enough to find out. Then all the local guys will say their "sources" confirm.
     
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  7. TorturedBlazerFan

    TorturedBlazerFan Well-Known Member

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    Ah its sad cause its true...
     
  8. SlyPokerOwl

    SlyPokerOwl Active Member

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    I've been told that he's sitting out so they can work out the deal with Minnesota. My source is a canine.
     
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  9. Labinot41

    Labinot41 Well-Known Member

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    From Jason Quick today, i'll copy it right away:

    When Moe Harkless needs a reality check, a "Doc" on the bench helps him keep it real.

    Three or four times a year, Trail Blazers forward Maurice Harkless and assistant coach Nate Tibbetts will have what they call a knock-down drag-out conversation.

    “They are pretty real,” Tibbetts said. “And I think we’ve come to respect those talks.”

    The reasons for the talks vary.

    At times over the past three-plus seasons in Portland, Harkless has been frustrated with playing time. Other times, he has been unsure about his place in the team’s offense. And sometimes, Harkless says life just catches up to him and places him in a bad mood.

    Each time, Tibbetts has been the closest thing to a checks-and-balance on Harkless. And almost each time, the conversation starts the same.

    “Mo,” Harkless says, imitating Tibbetts, “you are bull-shitting.”

    It has been an important dynamic within the Blazers, who rely on Harkless to be a game-changing force on offense and defense. Captain Damian Lillard calls Harkless the team’s “X-factor” and the coaching staff unanimously stresses the value of Harkless because he offers skills unique to any one else on the roster.

    “The dunks, the blocks around the rim, the plays in transition … I mean, he does things that nobody else on our roster can do,” Tibbetts says. “We are at our best when he is out there.”

    But throughout his three-plus seasons in Portland, Harkless hasn’t always been there. Sometimes, like earlier this season, it has been because of physical setbacks; other times, mental obstacles have held him back.

    Harkless can light up the locker room with his bright smile and machine-gun laugh, but he can also cast a do-not-disturb vibe with a furrowed brow, or a hoodie cinched over his head. Often times, those moods translate to the court.

    And that’s when Tibbetts, 41, steps in.

    “He knows how to talk to me when I’m in that space,” Harkless said. “He can always sense when I’m headed down that path and going to that frustrating place. He’s helped me be accountable. And now, I notice when I’m starting to feel that way, and I can snap out of it.”

    With Harkless in the starting lineup, the Blazers over the past three-plus seasons are 75-56 (.572 winning percentage). With him out of the starting lineup they are 78-70 (.527 winning percentage). Finding the sweet spot to get the most production out of Harkless remains a challenge.

    “I try to be a consistent person and I try to bring that out in him,” Tibbetts says. “I think he would probably tell you, we would love to grow in that area. And I think that is just going to take communication.”

    By now, communication is something at which they have enough practice.

    The connection between Harkless and Tibbetts was established the first day they met.

    A former first-round pick, Harkless in July of 2015 was traded from Orlando to Portland for a 2020 second-round pick, provided it falls into picks No. 56-60. In other words, he was traded for next to nothing.

    Harkless flew immediately to meet the Blazers’ coaching staff at the Las Vegas Summer League, and a workout was scheduled. The anticipation was thick. Harkless, feeling rejuvenated by a new opportunity, was anxious. And the Blazers’ coaching staff, fresh off losing four of the team’s starters from a second-round playoff team, was curious to see the new talent.

    “Typically, I wouldn’t remember first workouts with guys,” Tibbetts says, “but with Mo, because of the turnover we had that summer, we were all excited to see him, because we were wondering what kind of guys we were going to get.”

    With head coach Terry Stotts walking the sidelines, Harkless blew them away.

    “He was so excited,” Tibbetts remembers of Harkless. “He was going up and dunking, and he was so high that the ball was hitting off his head. He was so amped up he was having a hard time catching his breath.”

    Tibbetts stopped the workout and asked Stotts for a minute alone with Harkless.

    “He stopped the workout and turned to me and said, ‘Let’s take a walk,”’ Harkless said.

    Tibbetts put his arm around Harkless and the two walked the length of the court.

    “I remember telling him, ‘This isn’t a tryout; we traded for you. You are with us no matter what,”’ Tibbetts said. “I told him to calm down, that we are going to get to know you, just like you are going to get to know us.”

    In Orlando, Harkless felt nobody tried to understand him. His feelings were never considered. When Tibbetts put his arm around him, and walked with him, he felt something open up.

    “He was like, ‘I get it. I understand what you are thinking and going through. But we are good,”’ Harkless said. “And that right there, it made me feel comfortable with him. I’m attracted to people who really care. That’s a big thing for me. And right away, I could see that in him.”

    Eventually he would hear it, too.

    On the road, Tibbetts and Harkless often have dinner. And in the summer, Tibbetts will spend time with Harkless in California. It has provided what Tibbetts calls “the foundation” for an open line of communication.

    So when Harkless last season complained that he was “running track” — going up and down the court without touching the ball — or when he didn’t understand why he fell out of the playing rotation, Tibbetts didn’t hesitate to initiate one of their “knockdown” conversations.

    “Those conversations are needed,” Tibbetts said. “They are not always fun, but you have to have them.”

    Harkless chuckles at the memory of some of the pointed conversations.

    “I told you man, he keeps it real,” Harkless said. “We have a back-and-forth, but it’s not like we are coming at each other, we are talking, airing things out. Stuff like that is needed. He lets me know when I’m trippin’ and he keeps it real. He’s not going to sugarcoat anything.”

    Harkless said the gist of Tibbetts’ talks have to do with accountability.

    “He keeps me from blaming somebody else, and realizing what I need to do to fix the situation,” Harkless said. “I’ve learned that looking in the mirror is one of the hardest things, but players have to be accountable.”

    For all of Harkless’ struggles — he has either lost his starting job or been out of the rotation in each of his seasons in Portland — he has always found his groove and been an important part of the team’s rebirth.

    This season, he has been slowed by a sore left knee, which caused him to miss 12 games, and only recently has he been taken off a minutes restriction. Steadily, Harkless is regaining his game-changing form.

    “We are starting to see it again,” Tibbetts said. “You can see in the way he carries himself. He’s feeling better.”

    Tibbetts was referring to Harkless’ left knee, but in truth, he could have been talking about Harkless’ mind as well. The two have not felt the need to have a “knockdown” conversation this season, in part because Harkless says Tibbetts has taught him how to catch himself from slipping into that space.

    The ability to reach players like Harkless is one reason why fellow assistant coach Dale Osbourne calls Tibbetts “Doc” — a nod to his ability to communicate and connect psychologically with players.

    “You have to reach guys in different ways,” said Tibbetts, whose father Fred is a Hall of Fame coach in South Dakota. “Guys grow up differently. They are raised differently. They have been coached differently. And people forget, they have things in their lives that give them issues, and they all respond differently to that. So yeah, coaching the X’s and O’s is fun, but figuring out how to reach guys is exciting.”

    Harkless said other coaches have been able to reach him — Steve Lavin at St. John’s for one — but he notes that there’s something special with Tibbetts. Perhaps it’s Tibbetts’ middle name — Moe, which comes from his mother’s maiden name.

    “It’s crazy that we connect like we do and have a similar name,” Harkless said.

    The two also share the same number (4) — which Tibbetts wore as a standout point guard for the University of South Dakota.

    But mostly, both say it’s something much deeper. For whatever reason, they have formed a connection, and they are determined to make it work for the betterment of the Blazers.

    “He’s truly a good person,” Tibbetts says. “I think he is going to be a great father someday. His core is good and that’s why I’m so willing to go back to the table to help him. There’s a lot of good to him.”

    Added Harkless: “During the season, your friends and family are not with you every day, so they don’t see what’s going on. But Coach has always kept me straight.

    “He’s just a good person to be around, and it’s huge for players to have a coaching staff that cares about them.”

    Even if it means having a knock-down drag-out conversation.
     
  10. tykendo

    tykendo Don't Tread On PDX

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    I have been tough on Mo, but only because he has the talent, and I expect more from him. The inconsistent motor has been my biggest frustration with him as a player. But I will say, his play of late is what I like to see on a nightly basis, and I hope he's finally turning the corner. Because the Blazers are better when he brings it. I wish him well going forward.
     

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