Portland Trail Blazers: Maurice Harkless fading into the background
Portland Trail Blazers wing Maurice Harkless had a career year last season, but is off to a rough start this year. What is going on?
Portland Trail Blazers forward Maurice Harkless is currently in his sixth NBA season. At 24 years old, he has made his career as a role player that can do a number of things well. He has great athleticism, defends well and can score when called upon.
It took awhile for those skills to fall into place, as Harkless struggled through three years with the Orlando Magic and one in Portland. He averaged 6.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.0 steal per game over his first four seasons in the league. But things really came together for him in year five.
Harkless averaged 10.0 points per game on 50.3 percent field goal shooting, including 4.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 2016-17. All of those numbers are career highs. He also shot 35.1 percent from 3-point range, which famously earned him a contract bonus. In his April exit interview Harkless stated he was pleased with the season, but still saw room for improvement.
"“I think I made progress from last year. I think I still was a little bit inconsistent at times. But overall I think I had a pretty good season.”"
Unfortunately, Harkless hasn’t been able to build off of last season’s success in 2017-18. Through 37 games, both his play and role on the team have regressed.
Harkless is averaging 5.4 points and 2.9 rebounds per game while shooting 42.2 percent from the field. His points per game and shooting percentages are his lowest since his 3.5 per game on 39.9 percent shooting in 2014-15, his final season in Orlando.
Harkless began 2017-18 as the starting small forward, managing to hold the role over the Blazers’ first 18 games. He even logged a few decent performances early in the year. Harkless scored 13 points twice: once in an Oct. 21 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks and again in an Oct. 26 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. He also had 10 points, seven rebounds and two blocks in an Oct. 28 win over the Phoenix Suns.
But things declined after that. Harkless averaged 25.0 minutes per game in the 12 games after the Suns win. However, he only averaged 4.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per game while shooting 44.2 percent from the field and 13.3 percent from 3-point range in that allotted time.
Harkless’ worst outing came on Nov. 22 when he scored one point and failed to fill any other stat category in a win at the Philadelphia 76ers. He was replaced by Pat Connaughton in the starting lineup the following game.
Harkless has played 13 of the team’s 19 games following his benching, only making one additional start. He is averaging 4.7 points and 1.6 rebounds in this new role. He missed two games dealing with a left quad contusion. However, he also fell victim to four consecutive games in mid-December where he was simply left on the bench. He eventually returned to the court on Dec. 22 in a loss to the Denver Nuggets.
The following night, Harkless racked up a season-high 22 points in a close win over the Los Angeles Lakers. It was the lone bright spot in a dreary season. Unfortunately, that performance has been followed that up with 17 total points over four games. This includes going scoreless in the team’s overtime win over the Chicago Bulls on New Year’s Day.
Next: 2017-18 Week 12 NBA Power Rankings
Maurice Harkless possesses the talent to be an impact role player, and last season the Portland Trail Blazers saw what he could be at his best. Hopefully he can solve his issues soon so he can help the team compete at a higher level.