
Sluggish. Slow. Apathetic.
All of those words above, and more, could have been used to describe the Los Angeles Clippers through the first three quarters of Sunday night’s game against the Utah Jazz inside STAPLES Center. Nothing was going right. That is, at least, until Montrezl Harrell provided a spark.
While Kawhi Leonard will get the majority of the accolades for the Clippers’ 105–94 win, it’s Harrell who might have been the biggest difference maker. Sounds crazy to say when Leonard had 18 points in the fourth quarter, but that’s also the reality of the situation that occurred.
Harrell finished with 19 points, eight rebounds, two assists and one block for the game. He was 7-of-10 from the field. In the fourth quarter, though, Harrell had nine points, five rebounds (four offensive), a block and an assist. It was that energy, especially on the offensive glass, that catapulted the Clippers beyond the finish line.
While Leonard was dropping in shot after shot, Harrell was there to clean up the mess on misses and give the team a second life. Harrell was tied with Leonard for a team-best plus-15 in the fourth quarter, and we’re going to look at the things he did to help the Clippers en route to a victory.
We kick things off with only a couple minutes gone in the fourth quarter. The Clippers offense had been stuck in a quagmire all night, partly because of Utah’s stifling defense and partly because of their own inability to make the open shots they were given. That all starts to change here, but not because of them making open shots.
Maurice Harkless brings the ball up into the front court and quickly shuffles it along to Kawhi Leonard, who then goes right into a dribble-drive move at the top of the arc. Notice the time the Clippers go into their action here. It’s 18 on the shot clock. All night they had been taking their sweet time in the half-court and allowing the Jazz to get their defense set. Not this time.
Leonard drives and gets the attention of Utah’s defense as he does so. This leaves JaMychal Green wide open in the corner. Leonard kicks. Green fires. Clank. But look who is right there for the putback dunk: Montrezl Harrell. Let’s look at how this happened, though.
Early in this possession as Harkless is at half-court, look at the left side. Harrell has established deep seal position. When Leonard turns the corner to drive, Harrell is boxing out Joe Ingles for a possible rebound. When Green’s shot goes up, Harrell’s still boxing Ingles out. Then, all Harrell does is tap the ball to himself off the backboard and dunk it home to tie the game. Fundamentals and hustle.
A minute later, we get to see some of what makes Harrell a deadly all-around player on the offensive end. After all, sometimes screens are just screens, but other times they’re so much more. This is one of those latter instances.
Initially, the play starts with JaMychal Green and Montrezl Harrell setting double-high screens for Patrick Beverley. Doc Rivers and the Los Angeles Clippers used to run a ton of this action with Chris Paul as the lead ball-handler and DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin as the screening bigs. How times have changed, huh?
Beverley comes off of it and Harrell eventually gets the ball right below the top of the arc. He’s trying to get the ball to Kawhi Leonard, but Utah’s Royce O’Neal does a great job of denying him early on. Eventually, with 4.2 on the shot clock, Leonard gets the ball from Harrell on a screen handoff.
Harrell sets Leonard a screen, and with 3.6 on the shot clock we see O’Neal run into it. Leonard is probing at the right wing. With 3.0 on the shot clock, Leonard begins to go into his shot motion. But look at O’Neal. He’s held up by Harrell’s perfect screen. It gives Leonard all the room needed to shoot. Leonard buries the three and gives the Clippers the lead in the process. But Harrell’s screen is the real story here.
Late in the fourth quarter, the Clippers are clinging to a one-point lead. Lou Williams has the ball and flows into a little pick-and-roll action with Leonard on the right side. Harrell, if you’ll notice, strolls down to the “50” logo and acts like he’s about to set a screen to free up Patrick Beverley in the corner, but when Williams actually makes a play going to the rim, Harrell makes his move.
As Williams flies into the air to attempt his floater over the outstretched arms of Rudy Gobert, Harrell bullies right by Mike Conley along the baseline to put himself in position for a possible rebound. As the ball hits the rim, Harrell is already leaping up for the putback opportunity. The ball bounces towards him, Harrell’s hands are right there, and he tips it in to extend Los Angeles’ lead.
It’s this level of recognition and basketball wherewithal that should be praised time and time again. Harrell just knows where to be on the offensive glass and has made it a habit over the last couple seasons of wreaking havoc on second and third chances. That’s the type of thing that pays off in a game such as this when the offense has sputtered for a considerable amount of time.
This last play ultimately doesn’t matter to the final score, but it definitely matters in terms of showing the hustle and grit Harrell was playing with throughout the fourth quarter. Harrell is defending Gobert in this side-out-of-bounds play, but when Gobert goes to screen JaMychal Green, Harrell steps out to defend Bojan Bogdanovic. It’s a clever set by the Jazz to take advantage of a napping defender, but Harrell was definitely asleep at the wheel on this play.
Harrell closes out aggressively but doesn’t jump. Instead, he stays disciplined enough to force Bogdanovic to move off of the spot. Bogdanovic dribbles left and throws a pump fake to try and get Harrell off of his feet, but again Harrell stays grounded and keeps his hand up to deter a shot. When Bogdanovic finally jumps to shoot, Harrell jumps with him and gets enough of the shot to alter it.
The rebound eventually falls into the hands of Rudy Gobert for a dunk, but Harrell’s ability to defend without fouling a three-point shooter was critical to the Clippers closing out this game with a victory. While the odds of a comeback were low, preventing a three to make it a two-possession game is a vital part of keeping the win intact. Credit to Harrell for staying in the moment and defending at a high level.
Among the 109 players who have logged at least 20 minutes per game and 10 field goal attempts per game this season, Montrezl Harrell’s 73.6 percent shooting from the field leads the league. On top of that, among the 85 players so far this season to attempt at least 30 shots from inside eight feet, Harrell’s 76.9 percent conversion rate ranks second behind only Giannis Antetokounmpo.
All of this is to illustrate just how good Harrell has been on the offensive end of the floor. In fact, the Los Angeles Clippers are 16.0 points per 100 possessions better offensively with Harrell on the court as opposed to off of it. The Clippers’ offensive rebound rate dips by about five percent without Harrell, as well. He’s an exceedingly important part of the team every second he’s on the floor.
The Los Angeles Clippers have an envious problem-they currently possess two massive difference makers at the center spot. On one hand, Ivica Zubac is a defensive dynamo that has helped the Clippers immensely on that end. On the other hand, Montrezl Harrell is an offensive tidal wave that massacres any opponent. It’s a luxury few teams can afford. It’s one the Clippers are happy to have.
Montrezl Harrell’s relentless energy, effort, and heart can fuel the Los Angeles Clippers on any night in any arena. On Sunday night against the formidable Utah Jazz, he made the ultimate difference during the game’s final frame. Along with Kawhi Leonard’s help playing an essential role, Harrell catapulted the Clippers across the finish line and gave them a much-needed victory.