Harkless at SG and other odd lineups

[Reep]

Someone in another thread suggested they would like Harkless at the 2 instead of CJ. I laughed it off at first because Harkless in some ways look more likely to see minutes at stretch 4. But, I thought about it some more.
IF (big IF) Harkless does get his 3pt shot back (or up to 35% or greater), is this such an insane idea? Harkless seems to have as good of handles as Wes had and has very good lateral quickness. What would prevent him from minutes at the 2?

Possible Lineup
Dame
Harkless
Aminu
Leonard
Plumlee

That lineup appears that it could be very good defensively and really help cover for Dame. It would allow CJ to play the scoring 6th man.

And what of the other players on the team that can cross positions? I don't like this idea, but given his handles and outside shot, and reasonable lateral quickness, what about Vonleh seeing minutes at the three?

And what about an "all-fast-break lineup"

Frazier/Pressey
Henderson
Harkless/Aminu
Alexander
Davis

Beat-em Black-n-Blue lineup
Dame (no real good PG options here)
Connaughton
Leonard
Alexander
Kaman

 

[BlazerCaravan]

Leonard is the SF in the bruiser lineup. He'd be Batum with more cock punching.

 

[blue9]

Have people forgotten that we have Gerald Henderson - the only starting-level SG on the roster?
I'm not against Harkless playing SG if he has the skills for it. But we really shouldn't be playing people out of position this season - there just isn't any need for it. Especially playing SFs at PF - the PF is already too crowded without adding Aminu/Harkless into the mix. We have very little talent at SF so Aminu/Harkless should get ALL of their minutes at that position...unless Harkless can also shift down to SG (but never up to PF).

 

[Reep]

Have people forgotten that we have Gerald Henderson - the only starting-level SG on the roster?
I'm not against Harkless playing SG if he has the skills for it. But we really shouldn't be playing people out of position this season - there just isn't any need for it. Especially playing SFs at PF - the PF is already too crowded without adding Aminu/Harkless into the mix. We have very little talent at SF so Aminu/Harkless should get ALL of their minutes at that position...unless Harkless can also shift down to SG (but never up to PF).

Well, part of this relates to our current lack of depth at SG. For the time being, Henderson is not available. When he is available he is a good scorer, decent defender and weak 3pt shooter (unless the Stotts effect helps him). Harkless is a decent scorer, better defender and possibly better 3pt shooter. IF at some point Harkless shows better all around skills than Henderson, wouldn't it be interesting to see him there?

 

[Wizard Mentor]

I feel like Crabbe can give you what you're hoping for from Harkless at the 2.

Crabbe has flown under the radar in both the blazers coverage and these boards this summer. He was fantastic in summer league and has rededicated himself to increasing in 3FG%. He's shown he's much more than just a shooter/3&D guy.

 

[Reep]

Leonard is the SF in the bruiser lineup. He'd be Batum with more cock punching.

I like that idea.

 

[Reep]

I feel like Crabbe can give you what you're hoping for from Harkless at the 2.

Crabbe has flown under the radar in both the blazers coverage and these boards this summer. He was fantastic in summer league and has rededicated himself to increasing in 3FG%. He's shown he's much more than just a shooter/3&D guy.

I hope this is true. But, I do have concerns that it will be. Crabbe has never shown the type of aggression needed to step into the starting SG spot. He has all the tools, but seems to sit around and watch on offense. Hopefully that changes. Second, with all the buzz at training camp, I am not hearing his name mentioned very much. This concerns me a bit. It may be because he is now an "old timer" and not newsworthy, but I'm just not hearing his name like you hear about CJ and Harkless.

 

[Blazer4ever]

I think Crabbe could fill Batum's role as a SG and either Harkless or Aminu could give us what Wes used to give us from the SF position

 

[Wizard Mentor]

I hope this is true. But, I do have concerns that it will be. Crabbe has never shown the type of aggression needed to step into the starting SG spot. He has all the tools, but seems to sit around and watch on offense. Hopefully that changes. Second, with all the buzz at training camp, I am not hearing his name mentioned very much. This concerns me a bit. It may be because he is now an "old timer" and not newsworthy, but I'm just not hearing his name like you hear about CJ and Harkless.

1) It was his job to defer, and he did. This is a contract year and if he doesn't produce he'll be out of the league - he knows this.
2) He was very aggressive in summer league, and play very, very well.
3) much of the buzz in the offseason is mostly bs. Check out any of the Jaynes articles. It's like he has the article written before the interviews, then asks leading questions to make things fit. Barrett has stopped commenting on the players in the offseason because he's batting about 25% on his gushing.
4) I'm hoping for good things from Harkless like many on here are. However, we got him for a top-50 protected future 2nd rounder. They got the most insignificant pick possible and he doesn't make enough to give them a lot of cap relief. I'd love something for nothing, but I'm a bit sceptical until I at least see him play.

 

[Reep]

We will find out quickly with Crabbe. He certainly has all the tools. It will be interesting to see how he plays coming out of the gate.

Many assume CJ would start of Hendo is not available. The SG spot is wide open if Crabbe and take it.

 

[SpamKing]

Someone in another thread suggested they would like Harkless at the 2 instead of CJ. I laughed it off at first because Harkless in some ways look more likely to see minutes at stretch 4. But, I thought about it some more.
IF (big IF) Harkless does get his 3pt shot back (or up to 35% or greater), is this such an insane idea? Harkless seems to have as good of handles as Wes had and has very good lateral quickness. What would prevent him from minutes at the 2?

I wonder what happened to his 3pt shot? In 2013-14 he shot 38% on 59/154 . . .

 

[Mediocre Man]

Someone in another thread suggested they would like Harkless at the 2 instead of CJ. I laughed it off at first because Harkless in some ways look more likely to see minutes at stretch 4. But, I thought about it some more.
IF (big IF) Harkless does get his 3pt shot back (or up to 35% or greater), is this such an insane idea? Harkless seems to have as good of handles as Wes had and has very good lateral quickness. What would prevent him from minutes at the 2?

Possible Lineup
Dame
Harkless
Aminu
Leonard
Plumlee

That lineup appears that it could be very good defensively and really help cover for Dame. It would allow CJ to play the scoring 6th man.

And what of the other players on the team that can cross positions? I don't like this idea, but given his handles and outside shot, and reasonable lateral quickness, what about Vonleh seeing minutes at the three?

And what about an "all-fast-break lineup"

Frazier/Pressey
Henderson
Harkless/Aminu
Alexander
Davis

Beat-em Black-n-Blue lineup
Dame (no real good PG options here)
Connaughton
Leonard
Alexander
Kaman

Sorry, but _ame and Leonar_ on the floor together does not equal good defense

 

[Mediocre Man]

Sorry, but _ame and Leonar_ on the floor together does not ewual good defense

No spacing with that line up eithet

 

[Mediocre Man]

No spacing with that line up eithet

Great point.

 

[RR7]

forget to log into your alternate account?

 

[Mediocre Man]

forget to log into your alternate account?

An alternate account is a keen idea. I could hold conversations with myself if I used my sons account though.

Seems like a lot of work though

 

[Reep]

Great point.

So how do you really feel about having two white centers (yes MyLe is one) and a St. John's guy on your team. What if that lineup produced well?

 

[PtldPlatypus]

So how do you really feel about having two white centers (yes MyLe is one) and a St. John's guy on your team. What if that lineup produced well?

St. John's is OK. It's Syracuse that is evil.

 

[HailBlazers]

Excited to see if Meyers can carry his defensive improvements over from last year. He looked like a revelation against Gasol. If he does, he's sure to get more PT.

 

[Mediocre Man]

St. John's is OK. It's Syracuse that is evil.

This

 

[Reep]

St. John's is OK. It's Syracuse that is evil.

Oh yeah. I get them mixed up as I don't care for either team and the whole Orangemen, Redmen thing.

 

[Draco]

I do expect to see Aminu, Harkless, or another wing of ours at PF this season. Yes we have bigs we want to play but there will be times other teams are successful playing small ball lineups and we will have to match. When Iggy or Paul George are at PF and score 3 times in a row do you think Meyers or our other bigs will be able to guard them on the perimeter? No chance. Small ball is for real and while I do expect us to play the traditional PF/C pairs often no NBA team will be able to do it 100% of the time. Look at what Golden State did against the Mozgov, Thompson, Lebron frontcourt. We will have to be able to play small ball personnel in those situations.

I don't expect to see Aminu and Harkless both on the court together because of their lack of 3 point shooting. Same as Plumlee and Ed Davis only being able to shoot in the key; NBA defense is too good now days to have more than two players on the court with no jump shot. The game is totally different from the early 90's when teams could be successful with physically gifted players that had poor jump shots.

 

[Draco]

Dame
Hendo
Crabbe
Aminu
Meyers

That could be a successful lineup that I haven't seen discussed. Great shooting from Dame, Meyers, Crabbe and to some extent Hendo. Athleticism and defense from Hendo, Crabbe, Aminu. There is the positional versatility on defense where we don't have to worry about who those wing defenders are guarding. Put Dame on the opponents worst offensive player and Meyers on the tallest. Meyers can get the defensive rebounds and pull out the opposing center from the rim on offense. With Aminu and Hendo being mobile for their positions we don't have as much of a need for CJ's secondary ball creation to alleviate pressure on Dame. Its a lineup that could matchup against small ball units but with Aminu at PF can still fair well against teams with traditional big men.

 

[Chris Craig]

We are liable to see a lot of different lineups this season. Depending if we go small, or big, or fast, or three machine then look for players to play multiple positions

We know CJ will play both point and 2 guard

Lillard might also at some point for a small bit of time

Crabbe will probably see time at both the 2 and 3

I could see Harkless playing the 2 if we go big, or put in a fastbreak lineup, though he will see most of his time at the 3. I could also see him play some stretch 4 if we go small.

Aminu could play stretch 4 as well in a small lineup

I don't see any of our bigs playing anything but the 4 or 5...though it might be interesting to see Leonard play some 3

Connaughton and Montero can play a variety of positions


Point is this team is made for multiple line ups with such a flexible roster of guys who can fit into different positions on the floor...we're like a damned transformer

 

[Scalma]

My lineup would be

Lillard
Crabbe
Aminu
Leonard
Plumlee

2nd unit:

McCollum
Henderson
Harkless
Vonleh
Davis

Kaman takes mentor/part time player role. Alexander, Connaughton, Montero and Pressey round out the rest. Connaughton might carve out some minutes, especially if he can shoot consistently. Excited about Alexander but playing time would probably require an injury.


It's funny. Our starting 5 on paper isn't that great compared to the rest of the league, but when you add in the bench, that's a pretty solid 15 players.

 

[Reep]

It's funny. Our starting 5 on paper isn't that great compared to the rest of the league, but when you add in the bench, that's a pretty solid 15 players.

True. That's why most of us hope a few guys overachieve to bring up the starting unit. Then bench would still be strong. I'm all for getting more talent, but if 3-4 guys not named Lillard really progress, then I'm not sure you would need anything else.

 

[Reep]

http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/i...g_to_be_a_very_versatile_pl.html#incart_river

I love this. Harkless seems to have the edge that really good players have. Sounds like Stotts really wants to use all of his game--handling in the PnR and posting up both sound great to me. Sounds like Stotts has already talked about running a Dame-Harkless-Aminu lineup. Sweet.

I also like the enthusiasm in his voice. He really seems like he is having fun and loving this team. Great fit and I really hope he is one of the guys who ends up starting at some point in the near future.

 

[TBpup]

"Someone in another thread suggested they would like Harkless at the 2 instead of CJ." ~Reep

I happen to know who that 'someone' is. I wasn't suggesting so much instead of CJ but occasionally instead of so often going small, how about going big if you have the personnel to do it. It would reek havoc in the passing lanes and be a nightmare to shoot over. So coincidentally enough, the graph in this article shows Harkless playing much more at SG for Orlando than he did at SF.

http://www.blazersedge.com/2015/10/...rs-al-farouq-aminu-moe-harkless-small-forward

That graph shows Harkless being on the floor for 56% of the total minutes that the Magic played. Of those minutes, he spend 46% of the total minutes played at SG or for him personally, over 80% of his time on the court was at SG. Throw him out there with Aminu and either Dame or CJ at PG along with wing-span pterodactyls West/Vonleh and Leonard and that is a TON of length to shoot over or pass around.

 

[BigGameDamian]

PG: Dame
SG: Cunningham
SF:Aminu
PF: Leanard
C: Plumlee

 

[VanillaGorilla]

PG: Dame
SG: Cunningham
SF:Aminu
PF: Leanard
C: Plumlee

...