Pretty impressive, but can he do his dunks against Howard, De Andre Jordan and other legitimate NBA rim protectors?
A whole lot of those dunks come as a result of people not boxing him out .... That wont happen very often in the NBA.
Actually my viewing experience of the NBA shows there is a severe lack of boxing out. It seems like most NBA players have not learnt this crucial skill or haven't made it a habit. Perhaps most of them have relied so heavily on athleticism that they haven't needed it in the past.
Dunks and layups when someone doesn't box him out is basically how Jones gets most of his non-transition points.
From watching the video iv come to the conclusion that he's not an elite athlete. The Kenneth Faried comparisons are not accurate imo. He's got some nice skills and seems like a nice player but he won't be rising up above anybody the way faried does on a nightly basis. I was a little discounted watching that I was hoping for a better vertical, he's a very slow jumper from what I see.
With all this back and forth on whether we sign him and go hard cap or not - is it actually likely that we don't sign him at all now? No way Morley deals away major flexibility for Harrell.
This is all very, very true. There's maybe 10% of the league's players that box out appropriately. The rest of them scrum or stand and ball-gawk like fools waiting for the ball to drop into their mitts. Harrell is active on the glass. Which means he keeps moving around and looking for cracks to squeeze through while the shot is in the air. And for that reason he does get some good putbacks and picks up on short shots to stuff in. However, I'm not convinced he's a great or even a good rebounder at this point because I haven't seen him really box out consistently in the video's I've watched of him. For him to be a really good rebounder he'll have to box out consistently when he's low. When there's nobody else between him and the rim when the ball goes up he's gotta find an opponent and put a body on him, even if it means him losing his own rebounding position and a teammate gets the board. Here's an example (against the home team, hate to show it, but it happened) of a great box out by a little man on a big man and a terrible reaction by the big man when he saw the little man down low. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vQPlKk2LGIQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> In this example, Dwight was more concerned with padding his rebounding numbers instead of doing the fundamental correct thing when he seen Curry under the bucket. Dwight should have turned and pinned Curry under the rim. It might have cost him that rebound. Harden would have likely gotten it. But it would have saved us 2 points. As it developed, Curry made the superior simple basketball play. He boxed out Dwight. Harrell will likely get more than his share of putbacks because of his activity offensively. However, he'll have to prove he knows the fundamentals of rebounding and can box out himself to be a good-to-great rebounder in the Association.
Appears that DM is playing a waiting game. I don't know much about Harrell, but if he's anything like the Manimal (one of my least favorite players), he's not what the Rox need at that position. We have a few guys who can do that and more (Hi, Dwight) Winter is going to be pouncing time. It's painful letting go of anyone. Shoot, I was devastated when Cat was included in the Tmac trade. I still think we could have kept him around... FOE? 313? Maino? Snowed in? It's early though. Dan is going to be 50! OMG lol I can't wait for this Rockets season. I think Dwight is going to have a hell of year, possibly back to All-Star status. Same for MT (a good year, not All-Star). When I knew he was ours, I was ecstatic. He can put up numbers fast and his handles are underrated. We now have 4 guys to handle the rock. As much as I loved Prigs, he made me nervous bringing the ball up. James isn't going to have to work as hard to get his buckets. He could easily win the PPG category.
I am a fan of TheManimal. I think he has a definite place on any of the 30. Had there been a comparable (to TL) deal to acquire him I would have been in. What is your issue with him?
Not a fan of Faried? Stuck in a bad situation with his coach last season, but when he is unleashed he is a rebound monster who does all the dirty work.
Just from circles and his demeanor. He thinks he's worth more than he is. I agree with Aussie that he's in a bad situation in Denver (Shaw...wow.), but I've never been a fan of PFs that are so limited in what they bring to the table. He does hustle, but he hustles inconsistently. He could easily be the leading rebounder year after year, but it has been suggested that he doesn't have the same drive as he did during his first year. Maybe a change in coaching, or the fact that Denver is attempting to repair their image (Yeah right, they said the same thing with Kenyon, J.R. and Melo) will benefit his game. My "issue" with him is the same as anyone's dislike of a player for whatever reason. I haven't met him, so I can't judge him off the court. It's not the same dislike like I had for Karla Malone, but it's on the level of, say, Lou Amundson. I despise his game, and I have heard from numerous players that he's a flat out racist. I'm not saying Manimal is, but just suggesting that we all have players that we're not fond of. I'll put myself in the flames and admit that I was a huge Stephen Jackson fan. He was my favorite player outside of the Rockets for awhile. I loved his ability to take over and fearing no one but God, or Greg Popps. There are very few superstars that annoy me, including LBJ, so it is usually the role players or guys that are cockier than they need to be. A good example is Rajon Rondo. Yes, he was amazing in Boston, but without the Big 3, his worth isn't what he makes it out to be. Shoot, along with his attitude, he couldn't even get it done with the likes of Dirk/Monta in the Dallas series. Dirk may be old, but if you give him the ball, he's going to make it happen. There are a lot of guys on Denver's firesale. I'm just not interested nor fond of Kenneth. That's all.
We wouldn't even be having this discussing or thinking about it if weren't stacked at every position since we got so many players that can either play below or above their position. The only thing we don't have is a big, physical, bruising lunch pale guy to play back center (although Hayes may work in very short bursts). I'd imagine but TJones and DMo will be very available for the right trade and I'm sure DM is going to be asking what he can get for either or both. Regardless, I feel we got good enough depth to potentially lose that flexibility to gamble on the present while having Harrell's standing reach is 1.5 inches shorter than Capela's, along with a 0.5 inch shorter wingspan; this guy has the potential to make the Manimal look like a poor man's version of himself. The guy has the weight of a traditional PF but the versatility to guard the 3-5 spots due to above average athleticism/lateral quickness and the wing span of condor to go along with dunking and rebounding. He's definitely very raw (the reason why he slipped so far), but has a very high motor and great work ethic. He just needs to be in the D League to see if he can put it together behind the ears first. Do you think they are going to restrict Dwight's minutes?
Don't need to jump your highest with a wingspan like Harrell's. He's already a better defender and shot blocker than Faried.
With our backcourt as it is, the big men who will have the opportunity to shine are those who know how to slip towards the rim when defenses send the inevitable double team to the perimeter ball handlers, as well as run ahead in transition. Jones, Capela, and maybe Harrell seem the likely candidates.
Dan Majerle is going to be 50 years old on September 9th. He's a Suns guy in most people's minds. FOE could be a foe or Forge of Empires? Maino is the King of Brooklyn. 313 is Detroit's area code. There are too many cities that get snowed in for me to think of just one for that clue. Edit: Maybe snowed in is the Canadian team?
