Maurice Harkless Appreciation Thread

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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.
 
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
 
BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94 said:
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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.
 
Blazinaway said:
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!
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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.
 
blue9 said:
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.
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Hark and Aminu are a great modern day forward tandem.
 
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.
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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.
 
blue9 said:
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.
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So now you're criticizing Stotts for moves he didn't make if players had skills they don't have? Impressive dedication!
 
Draco said:
So now you're criticizing Stotts for moves he didn't make if players had skills they don't have? Impressive dedication!
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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.
 
blue9 said:
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.
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Nic was camped in the corner under NATE.

When Stotts came in he gave Nic more playmaking freedom than he's ever had in his life.

Horrible, horrible comparison.
 
Wizard Mentor said:
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.
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Aminu is up to 36% for the season (not just recently). More is always better, but 36% is fine by me for a forward. I don't have time for the research, but Aminu was well below that so I'm guessing he is close to 40% over the last bunch of games.

Harkless is 36% over his last four games, but had a very poor March. I believe with more experience there is no reason he can't be 35%+ consistently. He has a quick, easy release.
 
I have this bad feeling about the summer.
I think Neil is gonna let Hark and Henderson go and re-sign Meyers for a big contract.

I can just feel it coming :smiley-bigsadeyes:
 
Blazers Roy said:
I have this bad feeling about the summer.
I think Neil is gonna let Hark and Henderson go and re-sign Meyers for a big contract.

I can just feel it coming :smiley-bigsadeyes:
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That would be really unfortunate - but very possible.

I still think Hendo leaves for a team that offers him at least a shot at starting. I'm more hopeful about Hark.
 
oldmangrouch said:
That would be really unfortunate - but very possible.

I still think Hendo leaves for a team that offers him at least a shot at starting. I'm more hopeful about Hark.
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1) Hendo has been in the league for 6 years (not counting this one) and been in exact 4 playoff games.
2) The Blazers will probably get better every year, and be in the playoffs every year for many years.

so, Hendo will error on the side of staying, UNLESS

3) A team pays him WAY more than the blazers are willing to, or
4) A playoff team offers him a starting spot.

In my mind, the question is,

5) Will his potential future salary interfere with NOs offseason spending plans?

Answer: I have no idea what NOs offseason spending plans are.
 
Blazers Roy said:
I have this bad feeling about the summer.
I think Neil is gonna let Hark and Henderson go and re-sign Meyers for a big contract.

I can just feel it coming :smiley-bigsadeyes:
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Hendo can go wherever he wants as he is a UFA, Hark we control to the extent he is RFA and we can match any offer he receives, same with Crabbe and Mayers. I think NO won't try to keep Hendo if he gets a crazy offer like 15 mil per, and I would agree with that. Hark I for sure think we keep, Crabbe ye if he's reasonable, I want Meyers gone unless we get him at 5-6 mil per and that won't happen.
 
Reep said:
Aminu is up to 36% for the season (not just recently). More is always better, but 36% is fine by me for a forward. I don't have time for the research, but Aminu was well below that so I'm guessing he is close to 40% over the last bunch of games.

Harkless is 36% over his last four games, but had a very poor March. I believe with more experience there is no reason he can't be 35%+ consistently. He has a quick, easy release.
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Your guess is close.

Over the last 20 games Aminu made 39 three pointers out of 100 attemtps.
 
Honestly, if we are going to throw a big contract at somebody.... make it Hark! He has a great upside and a unique skillset! Gerald would be replaceable but personally hard for me because of my sick fan boy love. Meyers.... well if he wants more than he's worth... byeeeeee!
 
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