Most Improved Blazer: Maurice Harkless
Maurice Harkless saw major growth in 2016-17, and for that he earns the title of Most Improved Blazer.
Harkless took on a larger role in the rotation this season, becoming the starting small forward. He started 55 more games and played 10.2 more minutes per game than he did in 2015-16.
It was also the best season of his career as a scorer. Harkless’s points per game average jumped up 3.6 points between 2015-16 and 2016-17. He also shot 2.9 percent better from the field than he did the year before.
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Those increases can be attributed to his improvement beyond the arc. Harkless shot 35.1 percent on three-pointers. That was his best output since his sophomore season with the Orlando Magic when he 38.3 percent from outside.
His solid three-point shooting was at least partly financially motivated. Harkless had an incentive in his contract that kicked in if he finished the year shooting 35 percent or better from three. After going 0-for-1 in the Apr. 4 loss at the Utah Jazz, he abstained from shooting threes for the remainder of the season. So he was able to make a marked improvement in his shooting while getting some extra money in the process.
But Harkless also had a good season defensively. As starting small forward, he was tasked with facing some of the league’s top wing players on a given night. In the end, Harkless had a defensive rating of 110, tied for fifth-best on the team, per Basketball-Reference.. He also saw a 0.6-point increase in his defensive box plus-minus from last season.
Harkless’s per game numbers in 2016-17 bear some resemblances to his rookie numbers in Orlando. The similarities are namely in his minutes, rebounding, steals and blocks per game. That goes to show that his time in Portland has allowed him to build into the player people expected him to be. We’ll see if he can continue to improve heading into next season.