I know I often speak in hyperbole when it comes to such things, but is this not a top ten most anomalous scoring performance so far this season? Moe Harkless wasn’t even averaging five points per game before he did this, even though he’s one of the main Blazers bench guys. I was starting to think, what’s the point of Harkless even existing if he’s not going to score, he’s not going to rebound, and he’s not going to get assists? Now, I have an answer to that question: he exists because once every twenty games, he’ll win the game for you with his unorthodox scoring game and his weak jumpshooting ability.
Harkless was a decent, semi-reliable scorer last season, but regression is his middle name this year. Maurice Regression Harkless. The three-point shot he flashed has disappeared and, up until tonight, he never seemed to want to get involved in the offense. Maybe because the axis of chuckage (Lillard/McCollum/Nurkic) was failing to integrate him. I don’t know. But when the commentators mention that you look more engaged and peppy than usual, you know something’s wrong.
P.S. This dude is only 24 but it’s his sixth season in the league. Mind = blown.