Montrezl Harrell Discussion

Harrell has such good mitts, he catches just about every pass then he's almost automatic near the rim. Always on the move as a roll man that an assist is a close guarantee.

Hardly any fumblerooskies...

 

Just phenomenal energy every single game. I love it!

 

Even when he gets the ball in transition and there's absolutely no one around him to challenge the dunk, he still plays like this:

 

If he is 237 like he says, at his true height (is he 6'7"?), then that is enough beef for today's NBA. Of course he would still get manhandled down low by the Joker, Drummond, Embiid and one or two others. But playing toothpicks like Christian Wood, he has the beef advantage. And of course he is quicker than just about any Center I can think of in the league.

 

Agreed, I heard he was almost exclusively a P and R scorer, but he's shown us a really nice looking face up mid range jumper that has been money this season. I like what I see. He's a more versatile scorer than advertised.

Article to this point:
SPORTS
Newsletter: Lakers newsletter: Montrezl Harrell finding more freedom across the hallway

Lakers center Montrezl Harrell drives to basket against Mavericks forward Dorian Finney-Smith during their Christmas Day game.
(Ringo H.W. Chiu / Associated Press)
By DAN WOIKESTAFF WRITER
JAN. 5, 2021
6 AM
Hi, this is Dan Woike, Lakers beat writer for the Los Angeles Times, here with your Lakers newsletter.

It’s been a year since Montrezl Harrell’s frustration boiled over. His Clippers had just gotten waxed by the Memphis Grizzlies, and Harrell felt like he needed to set everyone straight.

“We’re not a great team,” he said. “That’s the one thing y’all need to get out of your mind. We’re not a great team.”

The postgame skewering highlighted the Clippers’ chemistry problems, as a player who wasn’t one of the established stars was calling for more effort — a not-so-veiled shot at the team’s stars.

It didn’t play well in the Clippers organization, even if it was true, as people with the team said Harrell wasn’t exactly a model of accountability either.

In the 12 months since his locker-room callout, Harrell has a new team — he didn’t have to change addresses — and the same-old game, giving the Lakers life when they need it with his high-efficiency offense and unrelenting energy.


The Lakers’ Montrezl Harrell is fouled by the Spurs’ DeMar DeRozan during their game Dec. 30 in San Antonio.
(Ronald Cortes / Getty Images)



“It’s definitely a great feeling to have chemistry and the camaraderie that the guys have with one another already early in the season,” Harrell said. “Honestly, the only thing I think that’s going to happen is that it’s going to continue to grow. Guys, it’s a great vibe. It’s a great energy around us, man.”

Energy can be a bit of a dirty word in the NBA — the not-so-subtle implication being that your success is tied to simply playing harder than anyone else and not because of talent.

Lakers center Marc Gasol bristled at the association for Harrell, saying his skill is too great for the “energy” label to be so prominent.

The Lakers have certainly entrusted Harrell to show more all-around skill than he did with the Clippers, for whom he was primarily a pick-and-roll partner and occasional face-up player.

With the Lakers, he has expanded his game and shown that he can make midrange jumpers out of post moves — he’s made five already this season.

“Trez is gonna have it in the post, [and] if a player is just gonna back up on him, it makes it harder to score at the rim,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. “So in some ways, in everything you do, you have to take what the defense gives you, and he’s shown the ability to knock that shot down. He has the green light to take it.”

Harrell praised the Lakers’ freedom within their offensive system, a freedom that makes him comfortable to square up and shoot from 15 feet if it’s the right play.

“It’s really just being able to just play my game and just not being kind of told, ’You always got to be this, this or this.’ It’s kind of been the system I’ve kind of been playing in for a while. It’s got to be threes, layups or let’s get free throws. But that’s not like that over here,” Harrell said. “They play to the stye of everybody’s game, and we’re not looking at anybody that you have to do this, you got to do that, man. We play basketball over here. It’s a free-flowing game.”

Harrell’s impact on the Lakers primarily will be on the offensive end, and as long as Gasol and Anthony Davis are available, the Lakers will have other options when they need a defensive presence.

Harrell is in a role in which he can do what he does — no more, no less — and it’s seemed to be just what the Lakers need.

 

He was excellent tonight on offense. Not so great D.

 

Wild to find out he is the number one iso player in the NBA this season as per Billy Mac and Stu.

 

Don’t really like Harrell’s body language. I know he seemed pissed off at THT during the game. Not sure what happened.