This is part of a series of player reviews from the 2020-21 season. To find the remainder of the series, please click here.
Okay. So, at least the season from hell wasn’t for nothing. I mean, who isn’t happy with how the Draft Lottery went? Everyone here at RR was ecstatic and I even almost gave my mom heart attack when I heard NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum announce that Golden State would be receiving the seventh pick. Just so you know, she’s safe. But, she’s still a little upset that I let out a loud and resounding “YES”, which was then followed up by me dancing around like David Bowie and Mick Jagger on Dancing In The Streets … with that being said, she’s completely within her senses to feel that way. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, this is all you need:
I then explained to her exactly what went down and how the lottery works and then she felt compelled to say sorry to me which speaks volumes to how amazing my wonderful mother is. Oh yeah, my bad! We’re talking about Jalen Harris and how he really came undone at the end of the season. Who knew THAT was coming? I mean, he didn’t set my expectations too high, but he still showed us something, and that’s better than nothing.
Despite all that went on, the “Jalen Harris” show was one that I was attentive for. His numbers throughout his first nine games are mainly empty. However, he only logged more than 10 minutes just once in that timespan; scoring 11 points on 100 per cent shooting from the field. It was against the Los Angeles Clippers and Toronto led for most of the game but with key rotational players sidelined, Kawhi and his minions took over and ultimately won, 105-100.
All things considered, he’s a rookie who made his league debut in January and was drafted to a team who was (and still is) trying to figure out their identity after losing three essential pieces of the 2019 championship roster over the past two summers.
In a game against the Memphis Grizzlies, just a few days after facing the Clippers, Harris was given some legitimate playing time and not just garbage minutes. In 29 minutes, he scored 16 points, conjured up six boards, and dished out four assists. His shooting percentage for this game was 42 per cent and if that’s the only knock you can attach to his box score, remember: he was a rookie.
Including that game and the three after, he played over 20 minutes in each and with averages of 18.5 points, 1.3 steals, while shooting 41 per cent from beyond-the-arc and 52 per cent from the field, I’d say he proved he can be serviceable as a role player and maybe even a sixth man. But it’s way too early to tell and we still don’t know enough about him at the professional level. Now, obviously his increased minutes were a result of the short-handed Raptors dealing with multiple injuries. I could see him spending some time with the 905 to keep him warm. But I won’t rule out Toronto undergoing another injuries-galore experience – which is when he’ll come in ready to go.
There’s one game in particular that I really want to talk about – his homecoming in Dallas. It was his last game of the year and his second straight start. He played over 30 minutes for the first time in his young NBA career and took full advantage of the opportunity, scoring 31 points (a career-high), with five treys, on 42 per cent from long distance and 57 per cent from the floor.
After watching the tape, there are two things that stand out to me about Harris’ offense. The first is his fearlessness. Seven of his 21 attempted field goals came from inside of the paint and for the most part, he was going up against bigger and stronger opponents like Dwight Powell and Maxi Kleber. It’s the type of aggression and confidence you wouldn’t necessarily expect from a 59th overall pick. However, Harris showing this driving ability makes him valuable. Whether that’s as a regular in Nick Nurse’s ever-evolving rotation, or as a sweetener in a potential trade, I’d expect Harris to have the opportunity to grow his game at the NBA level for a while.
The second thing that really amazed me was his body control. He’s got the switch he wanted on one possession, with Powell defending him. He knew the big man was too slow to keep up with him, so he took Powell baseline, then underneath the basket, faked the big man out, and shot over him for the bucket. Seeing that much poise and control is an encouraging sign of what’s to come.
In terms of defense, there’s a lot to be desired. Harris wasn’t abysmal on that end, however he looked lost sometimes. For example, in Dallas the Mavs were in the midst of a fast break which forced Toronto to establish their transition defence. Harris didn’t communicate with Stanley Johnson, who became the victim of a Luka Doncic-Willie Cauley-Stein pick-and-roll. Doncic himself is a multi-faceted offensive wonder and WCS is a serviceable big.
The issue with not communicating was that Doncic then was freed up at the top of the key, forcing Harris (who was down by the baseline) to rush and provide assistance for Johnson. This left Josh Richardson wide open for a three in the corner and he capitalized on it. This is a tiny sample for some of Harris’ concerns. Otherwise, I’d consider his season not to be a success or failure, but rather an encouraging sign.
With just 13 games, Harris pulled out everything he had in his bag and when push came to shove, he answered the call. He’s similar to Malachi Flynn in that respect. However, Flynn plays superb defense which is precisely where Harris will need to focus if he wants to carve out a role in next year’s rotation.
