Joe Harris Playing Major Role for Cavaliers
By Luke Sicari
With a team that consists of a 4-time NBA MVP, a FIBA World Cup MVP and a 3-time NBA All-Star, we all knew that the 33rd pick of the 2014 NBA Draft would be playing major minutes and would be a key piece in winning the Cavaliers ballgames right?
What, you’re saying you didn’t expect Joe Harris to be playing a major role for Cleveland?
Okay, okay, we forgive you.
Let’s face the facts, no one expected Harris to play this big of a role, this early in the season. While I broke down how Harris could help the Cavs last month, even I didn’t see this coming from the rookie.
Before the Cavaliers win against the New Orleans Pelicans on November the 10th, Harris had played a total of 7 minutes in the Cavs first 4 games- 5 against the Blazers and 2 against the Nuggets. In those 7 minutes, Harris put up 2 points, while shooting 1/3 from the field.
“Joe Harris is going to be a big piece for our team. He’s going to have his rookie mistakes, we know that, but mistakes can be covered when you play hard. That’s one thing that kid is doing.” – LeBron James
It seemed like Harris was going to receive very minimal minutes throughout the season and eventually join fellow rookie Alex Kirk in the D-League. Players such as Dion Waiters, Shawn Marion, Mike Miller and occasionally Matthew Dellavedova were holding up the 2 spot while Harris was warming up the bench. Suddenly though, both Waiters and Dellavedova went down with injury, Marion was moved to the starting line-up and opportunity knocked for Harris.
The former Virginia Cavalier is making the most of that opportunity.
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In the aforementioned victory over the Pelicans, Harris played 20 minutes and while he only scored a modest 5 points (it should be mentioned two of those points were on a buzzer-beating lay-up at the end of the first half), Harris had the best +/- on the team that night, a +18. For comparison, Kevin Love had a +1, Kyrie Irving a +4 and Miller a -12.
Coach David Blatt wasn’t afraid to praise Harris after the game, as he stated “I thought Joe Harris, in addition to playing very well, also played the game with great energy and it seemed to energize the crowd. He’s a young player that’s playing with a lot of heart and people in Cleveland respond to that, and they responded to that tonight.”
While Harris had a great showing against the Pelicans, with Waiters returning the next game in Boston, many questioned whether Harris would get major minutes two games in a row.
Turns out Harris impressed Blatt more than he may have indicated.
In the win over the Celtics, Harris played 19 minutes, scoring 6 points (which included a huge corner triple in the final quarter to cut the Celtics lead to just 3 during Cleveland’s furious fourth quarter rally) and once again posted the best +/- on the team and by a far margin. Harris was a +24, with LeBron James being second best, posting a +10. Waiters was -14, Love was +2 and Irving was a +5.
It went beyond the stats though, as Harris, along with Marion, played a key role in not allowing Rajon Rondo to get a shot off in the final seconds, with the Cavs only holding a one point lead. The Cavs have already lost on a buzzer-beater this season and Harris was determined not to let it happen again.
To many peoples surprise, Harris closed out the game with the starters in Boston, as he played the final six minutes in an extremely close game. This showed how much trust Harris has already gained from Blatt so far this season, as Blatt had this to say post-game when he was asked about Harris’ performance, “What do I have to say about him? Well, I put him in there, so I guess I said everything I had to say about him. I believe in the kid, I believe in the kid and you know what, it was not only the shot that he made. He played the game right; he played with the kind of intensity and the kind of physicality that we needed and he played for the team.”
The praise for Harris didn’t stop there, as Love had this to say about Harris’ play in Boston “He just stays ready. He’s a guy that even in his rookie year seems to be a constant professional and a guy that just tries to absorb everything that he possibly can. He played great for us tonight, hit big shots and made big plays on both ends of the floor and we’re happy with the way he played tonight.”
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No, wait, it doesn’t stop there. Then James took his turn to show his appreciation of Harris, stating, “Joe Harris is going to be a big piece for our team. He’s going to have his rookie mistakes, we know that, but mistakes can be covered when you play hard. That’s one thing that kid is doing.”
Not bad for a second round pick, 7 games into his NBA career huh?
Now it is up to Harris to continue this level of play and there is no reason why he can’t. The kid plays hard, brings it on the defensive end, can space the floor and shoot the long ball. Harris could even be placed into the starting line-up soon, as the Cavs could roll with the same 5 that ended the game in Boston: Irving, Harris, Marion, James and Love.
While it is a small line-up, it is definitely effective.
Harris has made a huge impact on the Cavaliers in the early season and he isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. The coaching staff and his teammates have already shown immense trust in the rookie and it could lead to Harris being placed into the starting line-up sooner rather than later.