Los Angeles Clippers: The exciting emergence of Montrezl Harrell

Playing under the shadow of All-Star caliber center DeAndre Jordan last season, Montrezl Harrell never got the chance to shine. Thus far for the Los Angeles Clippers, Harrell has proven what he’s been capable of doing all along.

The Los Angeles Clippers have been known to have some elite big men throughout their history. From Bob McAdoo to Elton Brand to the exciting tandem of Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, fans of the Clippers have seen some top-tier play from big men with a variety of different skill-sets.

With the departure of former star center DeAndre Jordan this past offseason, it seemed as though that may not be the case for the next couple of seasons. Marcin Gortat, although definitely skilled, is not necessarily an All-Star caliber player and Boban Marjanovic is too much of a defensive liability to be more than a situational talent.

Montrezl Harrell is far from an All-Star level player right now, but he’s definitely giving Clippers fans something to be excited about down low. With the aforementioned Jordan out of the way and Gortat taking a back seat when it comes to small-ball play, Harrell has finally been given a chance to show the world what he’s capable of.

Recent success

Most fans who watched Clippers games last season appreciated Harrell for his high-level productivity off the bench. Although he only played 17.8 minutes per game, he averaged a noteworthy 11.0 points and 4.0 rebounds on an efficient 63.5 percent shooting from the field.

As of late, he has been on a tear and is a big reason for the Clippers’ current success. In the last three games where he’s received over 20 minutes per contest, Harrell has averaged an eye-catching 19.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 2.3 blocks and 1.6 steals on an extremely effective 74.9 percent shooting from the arc.

The first of the most recent three games saw the 6’8″ big play just 24 minutes against his former team, the Houston Rockets.  Despite limited minutes, he managed to record 17 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three blocks on 8-of-10 shooting from the field. In 23 minutes against the New Orleans Pelicans, Harrell was a little more reserved, but still put up a solid 12 points, six rebounds, two steals and two blocks on an efficient 5-of-6 shooting from the field.

Most recently against the Rockets for their second matchup of the season, the 24-year-old erupted for a career-high 30 points to go along with six rebounds, two blocks and two steals on an impressive 8-of-13 shooting from the field. Furthermore, he was still able to put up these numbers in less than 30 minutes as he played just 28 that game.

While it’s definitely way too early to predict an All-Star appearance in the future, the high-level performance in limited minutes is extremely impressive.

A unique skill-set and situation

As the NBA continues to progress toward small-ball lineups and as more and more big men add perimeter shooting to their arsenal, the traditional low-post big man becomes less valuable.  Almost all centers that don’t have a consistent shot are elite rebounders, defenders and athletes and Montrezl Harrell is kind of in between all of those things.

Harrell has proven to be one of the best defenders on the Clippers and is agile and strong enough to guard virtually all positions. However, he’s just 6’8″, so starting him at center consistently hasn’t really been a possibility throughout his short career.

He plays like a center but doesn’t necessarily fit the prototypical mold. We’ve seen that he’s an extremely effective defender, rebounder and scorer when the Clippers decide to go small and he projects to play this well all year when given the chance.

It’s unlikely that Harrell will be a consistent starter at center any time soon, but his production off the bench is always going to be extremely valuable.  If he can develop an effective jump shot as his career progresses, we might see him as a starting power forward later on.

While he’s definitely good enough to play on most teams right now, these improvements will solidify him as a starter. Guys like Andre Drummond, Steven Adams and DeAndre Jordan are all able to justify their lack of a consistent jump shot due to their prowess on the defensive end and on the glass. Montrezl Harrell definitely has those same skills, he just doesn’t have the height that they do.

It’ll be interesting to see the role he takes as he progresses throughout his career, but one thing is for certain: Harrell is going to be a fun player to watch on this Clippers team and will definitely prove to be useful in key matchups.