Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum get the bulk of the headlines when it comes to the Portland Trail Blazers' high-scoring offense, and rightfully so, but it's forward Maurice Harkless who's breaking out as the team's third option in his first year as a starter.
Harkless scored 23 points to register his third-straight game of 15 points or more in Wednesday's 131-109 victory over the Indiana Pacers at Moda Center, no small feat for a player that averaged 6.4 points a season ago. Harkless has already eclipsed the 20-point mark three times through 20 games this season, something he did just once in 2015-16. Behind Lillard and McCollum's combined 50.9 points per game, Harkless has emerged as the team's third leading scorer with a career-high 12.4 points per game thus far in 2016-17.
At just 23 years old and in his fifth season as a pro, Harkless is experiencing the best run of his NBA career.
"I just I get in where I fit in," Harkless said, referencing Too $hort. "I just find ways to get open... When I get the ball, I'm aggressive, looking for my shot, looking for a way to get to the basket. Offensive rebounding, that's another way [to score].
"Whatever opportunity is presented to me in different games is what I take."
Though the results haven't always gone the Blazers' way through the first month or so of the season, Harkless' emergence hasn't gone unnoticed by his teammates.
"He's been huge," Lillard said of Harkless following the win over Indiana. "Rebounding the ball, defending, knocking down shots, being in the right spots for shots, getting to the corner, getting the right spacing, echoing plays defensively: he's been on top of it. I think we've lost games and it hasn't been put out there, people may not have noticed, but he's been huge. In a lot of situations, he's taken pressure off of me. I think he's been great all season long."
Standing 6-9 and 220 lbs., Harkless earned the almost unanimous distinction of the Blazers' most athletic player from his teammates when he came to Portland from the Orlando Magic in the summer of 2015. An improved three-point shot to go with his ability to slash and rebound on the offensive glass makes Harkless arguably the Blazers' most versatile scorer -- even if head coach Terry Stotts doesn't always call his number in the team's offensive scheme.
"Obviously he’s shooting the three well. He’s taking the ball to the basket. He gets offensive reboundsl. He’s an opportunistic player. I don’t run a lot of plays for him, he just finds his way and finds opportunities for himself,” Stotts said.
Added Harkless: "Being able to score the ball in a lot of different ways helps.
"I just go out there and do what I do."