BRANDAN WRIGHT one of the fastest rising stars in the basketball scene.
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Warriors' Harrington wants to contribute more than 3-pointers
Warriors forward Al Harrington has an unusual problem. Most NBA players, when candid, will say they don't get to shoot the ball enough. Harrington has the opposite problem: He's tired of doing precious little other than hoisting three-point shots. Harrington has attempted 257 three-pointers (third on the team) and averages 9.4 every 48 minutes (first). But he longs for the days when he did more than work the edges of the court. "No, I'm not OK with it," Harrington said of his duties as a three-point specialist. "But that's what Coach asked of me, and that's what's going to keep me on the court, so that's what I'm going to do." Harrington arrived in a trade from Indiana a little over a year ago as a versatile 6-foot-9, 250-pound forward with the ability to post up smaller defenders and skirt around lumbering ones on the way to the basket. He arrived at training camp in October eager to show off the hook shot he added over the summer to complement his low-post abilities. But as the most accurate three-point shooter on the team (making 40.5 percent of his attempts), Harrington has seen his job requirements distilled to one endeavor. Of his 554 shots, 257 have been three-pointers (46.4 percent). In his previous nine seasons, only 11.3 percent of his shots were from behind the arc. "Obviously, I'm not an inside player anymore. We all know that," Harrington said two weeks ago. "At the end of the day, I could take a three every time I touch the ball. It's a balancing act that I'm trying to get within myself, but also trying to figure out what Coach wants, because sometimes he wants me to shoot it every time. I've just got to find that even ground." Coach Don Nelson makes no apologies for his single-minded sense of purpose when it comes to Harrington. And with the recent addition of forward-center Chris Webber, Harrington probably will venture into the paint even less. "He's the easiest guy to get open on the threes, because a bigger guy is covering him," Nelson said. "So as long as we know where he is, we'll find him and get him some shots there. I think we've got to keep the game as simple as we can. I just want him to be aggressive and, when he has his shot, shoot it and don't really worry about anything else." Although Harrington dislikes the lack of variety in his offensive repertoire, Stephen Jackson appreciates the way his teammate has thrown himself into his duties. "I just think now Coach wants him to be more of a scorer than a passer and a playmaker. That's the biggest difference," Jackson said. "Al plays on the perimeter a lot, and his game has become three-point shooting, but he's our best three-point shooter on the team, besides when Marco (Belinelli) is on the court, and that's what we need him to do. I think he's embraced that role." To a point, perhaps. However, Harrington has been trying hard to catch Nelson's eye during practice with everything but his three-point shooting. In scrimmages, Harrington has been overpowering defenders on his drives to the rim and even bringing the ball upcourt occasionally. "I'm just trying to bring my versatility back, because there's so many other things I can do on the court, and I feel like if I can get to that, I'll make this team even better," Harrington said. "I've been trying to mix it up more. And hopefully, as Coach sees me doing that, he'll gain some confidence in me and I'll be in a position to make plays, instead of just shooting the ball all the time." • Forward Austin Croshere (sore lower back) was in good spirits after his second consecutive day of full practice and said he hopes to play Thursday against Chicago. Although he has been sidelined three times this season because of back problems, Croshere said he isn't worried that the injury will recur. Read more at the www.mercurynews.com |
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