With veteran free-agent addition Al-Farouq Aminu awaiting the birth of his first child, Allen Crabbe and Moe Harkless made the most of increased minutes at small forward in the Trail Blazers' preseason opener versus the Sacramento Kings on Monday night in Portland. Crabbe got the start in the eventual 109-105 overtime defeat, helping himself to 12 points on five-of-eight shooting jump-started by a first-quarter dunk to get his confidence going early.
"Man, just seeing the ball go through so early, you’re like ‘Okay, it’s gonna be a good game, it’s gonna be a good one,’" Crabbe said after the game. "Just finding the ways to get easy points I think is big for me to get going.
"It’s just about me being confident, being aggressive on the floor," continued Crabbe. "If I’m just locked-in defensively and offensively, knocking down shots and doing what the team is asking me to do, I’m going to be fine."
Splitting time at both forward positions, the versatile Harkless was just as effective on both ends of the court for the Trail Blazers, shooting five-of-six from the field with two three-pointers to chip-in 14 points and six rebounds in the defeat.
"Definitely, (I) just want to build on tonight," the 22-year-old St. John's product said. "Keep going, keep improving, just keep showing what I can do. I can do a little bit of everything, so I’m just trying to show what I can do and get better at every little part of my game."
Added head coach Terry Stotts: "I thought (Harkless) shot the ball with confidence. He ran the court. He defended well. I was glad to get him on the block a couple times offensively."
Just in case Aminu was unavailable, the decision to start Crabbe was a precaution made in advance due to his consistency and performance in Training Camp so far. Crabbe was given the news he'd be starting against Sacramento earlier in the day.
"Allen had a really great week of camp," praised Stotts. "The thing that stands out to me, first of all, is that he’s been a consistent defender for us since day one. I thought he did a good job with that… He’s looking for a shot, shooting with confidence, moves well without the ball, runs the court. More than anything else, I think he’s just playing with some confidence."
Crabbe has a reason to be confident after averaging 15.5 points per game for the Trail Blazers in the Samsung Summer League in July before suffering a sprained ankle. Battling back to full strength ahead of training camp, the 23-year-old forward is hopeful to see a boost in minutes entering his third season in Rip City.
Said Crabbe, "I don’t think I took any steps back (after the injury). Granted, the injury took some significant time, but I feel like I got back into workout shape pretty quick.
"I’m back to normal, feeling really good right now."