Maurice Harkless Finding His Place With Portland Trail Blazers

Acquired last summer for a second-round pick, Maurice Harkless is starting to pay off for the Portland Trail Blazers.

As the Portland Trail Blazers had begun their massive roster overhaul, it was hard to pay attention to all the different changes that occurred. Within the organization, there was a consensus that general manager Neil Olshey knew what he was doing, but I don’t think many actually believed it.

Making free-agent moves and trades to offload perennial starters like Batum became the headlines while some other transactions went virtually unnoticed.

Obviously, as the season continued we began to see this team take shape and become the NBA’s Cinderella story. One story line that’s taken place with this team specifically is the newfound role of Maurice Harkless.

Another underperforming player, Harkless was a promising, young talent in Orlando, but hadn’t managed much playing time in the 2014-15 campaign due to both the presence of Tobias Harris and coaching decisions.

In the offseason of what looked like turmoil in Portland, the trade of a future second-round pick for a player like Moe Harkless was promising. Portland added to their depth and people around the team had a feeling he’d be a good contributor. With size, length, versatility to play multiple forward positions, and ability to get up and down the court, it was hard to disagree.

But at the beginning of the season, he was not utilized often. Coming in for occasional minutes, it was looking to be an underwhelming decision.

Months went by and Harkless saw the court scarcely, averaging about 17 minutes per night and looking out of place in the rotation. A couple of DNPs and the visuals of a player who looks distraught were signs that he wasn’t in the right role with the team.

But all it takes is one opportunity and that’s what Harkless got.

Mid-March came around and the Blazers continued to outperform their anticipated record by a long shot. Moe was getting playing time, but little did he know he’d get his opportunity.

Blazers center Meyers Leonard suffered a shoulder injury which would rule him out for the rest of the season, leaving Portland with few options in the frontcourt.

With Noah Vonleh playing well at the power forward position, you figured coach Terry Stotts would stick with him in the lineup, but he didn’t.

Stotts made a gutsy call, letting Harkless and Al-Farouq Aminu start together at the forward positions, something that really hadn’t been done much throughout this season.

An abstract call, Stotts not only looked like a genius but Olshey did as well: Olshey for acquiring Harkless, Stotts for giving him the opportunity.

Since he’s been inserted in the lineup, Maurice Harkless has elevated the Blazers’ overall game to a higher standard. Portland has won seven of its last 10 games with Harkless averaging 12.5 points per game on 54 percent shooting, he’s also become a leader in plus/minus on the team at plus-13.5.

An athletic, powerful forward, Harkless has a great wingspan and has been able to use it on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball, creating for teammates and getting “hustle” points off forced turnovers, blocked shots and loose balls.

His offensive rating is up to a staggering 138, while his defensive rating is at 118 in the past two games. And while the defensive numbers aren’t great, he more than makes up for it on the other side of the court.

His outburst is causing people to take notice. From around the organization, they’ve seen Stotts make one of the more polarizing decisions, panning out much like this season.

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The reason is not just his sheer talent, but the confidence that comes with knowing your role and being aware of your team, teammates, and the situation. Harkless has stepped up because not only is he a gifted player, but he’s also developed a confidence, patience, and gratitude to his other teammates.

In his post-game interview with Mike Barrett of Trail Blazers, he said, “We’re not all just teammates, We’re friends,” eluding to the fact that this team’s success isn’t just from on-the-court knowledge, but off-the-court as well.

The tight-niche group in Portland has used this all season long. Coming together, learning, and understanding one another. For the first time in many years, you’d heard of the whole team attending an optional team workout week in San Diego. A seemingly unheard of occurance

Nonetheless, Moe has been an integral part to why the Blazers have been so good down the stretch. It may not show up in the box score, statistics, or other metric-driven compounds, it sure as hell shows up on the tape.

Harkless, once in a bad situation on a bad team, got an opportunity to prove himself. With the help of his teammates, the organization, and the overall culture that the Trail Blazers have built, it’s helped him to flourish in a system that was supposed to produce 26 wins.

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Expect Harkless to be used similarly come playoff time, as he continues to give the Blazers an extra cog in the wheel.

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