LA Clippers: Montrezl Harrell 2018-19 season review
By Paul Headley
Impact
Montrezl Harrell broke out in his fourth season, putting up 16.6 points per-game in just 26.3 minutes nightly. Only 18 times in NBA history has a player put up at league 16.5 points per-game in fewer than 27 minutes per-game.
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Of that group, Harrell’s true-shooting percentage (63.6 percent) and win shares (8.7) rank first among those seasons by a comfortable margin.
Harrell was an advanced stats darling, ranking in the top-20 in a number of different categories tracked by our invaluable friends over at basketball-reference:
- Player Efficiency Rating: 18th (23.4)
- True Shooting Percentage: 9th (63.6%)
- Effective Field Goal Percentage: 6th (61.7%)
- Win Share Per 48 Minutes: 18th (.193)
- Box Plus Minus: 20th (+4.2)
If Harrell had a good scoring night, chances are the LA Clippers won the game:
Montrezl Harrell went for at least 16 points (about his average) in 46 games this past season. The Clippers were 32-14 in those games (a 69.5 winning %) pic.twitter.com/o5QZmy9TId
— Paul Don't Lie (@PaulHeadleyNBA) June 27, 2019
Harrell’s absurd per-minute production was enough to earn him third place in the league’s Sixth Man of the Year award, as well as seventh in Most Improved Player. He was moved full-time to center as part of the league’s most explosive bench offense (53.2 points per game).
What makes the fan favorite so special, and which areas could he improve on going into next season?