For Devin Harris, the opportunity to play in a real, live NBA game has been denied him for 10 consecutive chances. Recovered from his strained groin, the Nets guard revealed that being able to tomorrow (vs. NYK, 1pm, Buy Tickets) is tremendous.
"I’m not made for a suit," Harris said. "I’m looking forward to getting up there and running up and down."
He'll begin his comeback by coming off the bench for the first time in nearly two seasons, last having done so in April 2008. Harris seems fine with the arrangement, which he first revealed on Twitter, joking that he was gunning for Sixth Man of the Year. While he feels good enough to go full speed, he'll play in spurts during the first half as he measures his ability to push himself in the second. Nets coach Lawrence Frank admitted that they'll bring Harris along gradually so as to manage (the player's own) expectations.
The All-Star's scoring – 19.4 PPG with the Nets – will benefit an offense that has been struggling without Harris and fellow starters Courtney Lee (groin) and Yi Jianlian (knee), who have each missed at least six games. Through 12 games, the Nets are averaging 84.4 points (Efficiency: 89.5) on .401 shooting, .274 from three (True Shooting %: 47.6) and 15.17 assists. Each mark is 29th or 30th in the league.
However, even playing with eight or nine healthy most nights, the group has stayed competitive through the final minutes in nearly every game by playing stifling defense at an intensity level that belies the cobbled nature of the current rotation. Veterans like Bobby Simmons and Trenton Hassell have been pressed into far more extensive duty than the early rotation implied, 33-year-old Rafer Alston regularly has been surpassing 40 minutes at the point, rookie Terrence Williams has played four positions and second-year swingman Chris Douglas-Roberts has arrived as NBA starter after not breaking through until the final 15 games a year ago.
The Nets have teamed to limit seven straight opponents, holding each under 100 points and allowing only .434 shooting during that stretch. Overall, the team's defensive ranks each rest among the upper-half of the NBA: 94.8 PPG - 11th, .447 FG% - 14th, .332 3P% - 13th, 101.8 efficiency - 14th.
"Defensively we’ve been solid," Harris said. "We’ve taken a couple of steps back the last two games. Before this back-to-back, they’ve been getting stops. But it’s been the offense, turnovers and things of that sort – we’ve kind of been struggling. Defensively we’ve been right there."
Harris' return will alleviate burdens on Alston, who has averaged 35.5 minutes, and Williams, who's been backing him up despite being a natural swingman playing most of his minutes at shooting guard and small forward. Alston shifted back to starter, a role he filled for three straight playoff teams (Houston x2, Orlando), two games into the year, but knows that a return to the bench is soon to come.
Alston's accepting of the impending role reversal, and is often complimentary of Harris' All-Star ability.
"I’m excited to get him back," Alston said. "We need him. We need Courtney, Yi – all of our guys – and have all of the guys go back to their normal role and play from there. Sometimes we have guys playing 1) out of their role and 2) out of position; it’s tough on an individual. Now we get one back and hopefully he can bring us that spark and get back to his normal self."
Harris' debut comes against a 2-9 Knicks team that spreads the floor with shooters and plays at the league's fourth-highest pace (99.0). Sixth Man Al Harrington leads the team (and the league), with 19.7 PPG off the bench. He's closely followed by David Lee (17.3 PPG, 9.3 RPG) and Danilo Gallinari (14.4 PPG, .459 3P%). They're coming off a 110-103 win against the Pacers in which Larry Hughes posted 22 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and three steals.
"These are guys with proven resumes," Frank said. "They’ve got a lot of different combinations, and the way they play, they’re never out of it. They’ve had at least eight games where they’ve been down by 15 or more points, and they’ve come back in many of those games. They have a lot of good parts, and when they’re making shots, they’re a very, very formidable opponent."
Lee Looks Toward Rockies
Courtney Lee is officially targeting Game One of the Thanksgiving trip. Officially. (That's Tuesday at Denver, for those keeping track.)
Expecting to rejoin the playing roster after being sidelined seven games with a strained groin, he acknowledged that one light practice wouldn't be enough to prepare him for in-game action. He's frustrated at being unable to participate as the losing streak has extended to 12, but knows ensuring there's no chance for an aggravation best serves the team.
"I can't just say a couple guys coming back is going to change things, but that's what me and Devin are focusing on doing," Lee said. "Whenever we get Yi and Jarvis, we'll be back at full force and therefore we'll have a lot of guys to run at you. The eight guys who have been playing are doing a good job on the defensive end and competing every possession but they get fatigued. So when everybody is back, we’ll have a strong unit and everybody can just rotate in and just keep attacking."
But until then, it's only a countdown – to his return and the team's first "W."
"I think the team has always been motivated to go out there and win every night. Those guys are competing and then when you hear things like 'worst start,' that's fine because we can have the best finish. So don't focus on that."
