Harkless & Alexander "opening eyes"..

[jhern87]

It's less than a week away from our first preseason game and I figured if you all are getting as restless as myself, you'll appreciate little nuggets like this:

"According to players and people behind the scenes at the Blazers, there are two players who right now are opening eyes with their play: Small forward Maurice Harkless and power forward Cliff Alexander.

Harkless, acquired in a July trade with Orlando, has jumped so high and so quickly in pickup games that players say he is a one-of-a-kind talent.

"I don't think any of us have played with an athlete like him,'' Lillard said."

and

"Alexander, the undrafted 19-year-old out of Kansas, has been so tenacious and rugged in the team's pickup games, the Blazers' veterans have found themselves looking at each other in amazement that he wasn't drafted.

"He should have been drafted in the first round, if you ask me,'' said center Chris Kaman, who is entering his 13th NBA season. "He is an animal. Getting him as an undrafted player is unbelievable.''"

http://www.blazersedge.com/2015/9/29/9412859/portland-trail-blazers-moe-harkless-cliff-alexander


Losing LaMarcus and having to start another rebuild is disappointing but I've always enjoyed watching young guys grow and improve. Hoping to see a lot of Harkless and Alexander this season.

[Waynearchetype]

Skies the limit with Harkless, he has all the tools to be a Paul George caliber player. He just needs to put them together. Probably unlikely, but I think he can do it.

Cliff Alexander is interesting. From the clips I've watched I'd guess the best case would be Kenneth Faried that can play defense.

[Downtown]

As far as I know Harkless has always been considered a good athlete and well skilled. From reports and rumours that I've always read it's been his desire and motivation that's made him look poor. So who knows if this change of scenery has lit a fire him and he's had a paradigm shift or that it's going to be short lived and will wear off and he'll eventually go back to his former self that the Magic had given up on.

As far as Alexander goes I'll simply shrug my shoulders in ignorance about him and cross my fingers.

[GreenRiddler]

I would be happy if Moe can be a Ariza type of sf but more athletic. I find it odd that NeO said Aminu is going to be starting back in Aug. I wonder if Stotts has a choice?

AS for Alexander, I see him as no more than a TRob Clone, but won't look to score(or should I say attempt to score) as much a he did. 3rd string injury backup.

[Wizenheimer]

I sure hope it's true and will translate to the regular season

however, this time of year, I've heard very similar reviews on Qyntel Woods, Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje, Sebastian Telfair (sorry SBE), Sergei Monia, Sergio Rodriguez, Martell Webster, Taurean Green, Jerryd Bayless, Jeff Pendergraph, Eliot Williams, Armon Johnson....they were all, at one time or another, dominating practices. I'm always skeptical until I see it in real games.

of course, we heard the same about Brandon Roy and Lamarcus Aldridge, so who knows

[a_sensei]

An interesting article about Alexander.
http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2015/7/30/9016263/cliff-alexander-kansas-basketball-nba-portland-trail-blazers

[DeBlazerRiddem]

As far as I know Harkless has always been considered a good athlete and well skilled. From reports and rumours that I've always read it's been his desire and motivation that's made him look poor. So who knows if this change of scenery has lit a fire him and he's had a paradigm shift or that it's going to be short lived and will wear off and he'll eventually go back to his former self that the Magic had given up on..

This is what it sounds like to me too. However, players with motivation issues - especially if they stem from external circumstances -are really the type that are potentially salvageable by a change in scenery.

I do think that Orlando team is a little bit of a mess though. They have plenty of talent, but no leader personality and no coherent way of fitting all their parts together. For Harkless, he played plenty well when he was giving a significant role, but Orlando just seemed more committed to a wing of Oladipo and Harris, so I think Harkless felt a little dissed.

I guess the hope is that a leader like Dame can keep that fire going.... but with McCollum, Henderson and Aminu we have to hope that there is enough room in the rotation for Harkless to keep him engaged, or that Olshey trades away Henderson or something.

[PDXKnight]

I sure hope it's true and will translate to the regular season

however, this time of year, I've heard very similar reviews on Qyntel Woods, Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje, Sebastian Telfair (sorry SBE), Sergei Monia, Sergio Rodriguez, Martell Webster, Taurean Green, Jerryd Bayless, Jeff Pendergraph, Eliot Williams, Armon Johnson....they were all, at one time or another, dominating practices. I'm always skeptical until I see it in real games.

of course, we heard the same about Brandon Roy and Lamarcus Aldridge, so who knows

Yeah I don't know what to read into these reports but I tend to be skeptical that these guys materialize as well. I'm pretty sure Harkless was already known for his athleticism so it's not a surprise to see him get attention for it here. Whether that athleticism translates into consistent regular season production is another issue in and of itself

[erobs_1]

Good to hear about Harkless. As a Magic fan I think most of us were sure that he was going to break out at any time, but once the season started it never panned out. I know he spent most of the preseason at IMG working out.

Good luck on his progress. I look forward to seeing it.

[Norm2953]

I'd like to echo Wiz's sentiments for we've seen these statements before. Practice is one
thing but producing in actual games is what's going to matter. This might be nothing
more than trying to curb much of the talk of winning 25-30 games and finishing in
the lottery while trying to sell a few more season tickets.

[Shem]

I sure hope it's true and will translate to the regular season

however, this time of year, I've heard very similar reviews on Qyntel Woods, Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje, Sebastian Telfair (sorry SBE), Sergei Monia, Sergio Rodriguez, Martell Webster, Taurean Green, Jerryd Bayless, Jeff Pendergraph, Eliot Williams, Armon Johnson....they were all, at one time or another, dominating practices. I'm always skeptical until I see it in real games.

of course, we heard the same about Brandon Roy and Lamarcus Aldridge, so who knows

[cough]... Damian Lillard... [cough]

[GreenRiddler]

I think Aminu has a lot of question marks himself. I don't think he should be penciled in at the starting spot yet.

[Dame Lizard]

I'd like to echo Wiz's sentiments for we've seen these statements before. Practice is one
thing but producing in actual games is what's going to matter. This might be nothing
more than trying to curb much of the talk of winning 25-30 games and finishing in
the lottery while trying to sell a few more season tickets.

I completely agree that real game production (particularly over a decent sample size) >>>>>> Summer League and training camp when it comes to evaluating prospects, however given the players are the ones coming up with this opinion, that probably rules out that second sentence suggestion (that could be more of a tactic that a GM or owner would employ).

Cliff Alexander knows what his strengths are which is a great thing to see. Unfortunately he is a centre in a PF's body, however could be a good partner alongside Meyers (or maybe even Vonleh) given their perimeter ability.

Despite having average or below average height, his short neck (which you could attribute to being fairly useless height from a basketball standpoint) combined with his exceptional wingspan means his standing reach is actually really impressive. He's got a 1.5" standing reach advantage over Mason Plumlee despite being nowhere near as tall, but that's also indicative of where Plumlee is lacking.

Be on the lookout for a lot of travels coming from his direction though, his footwork looks like a big issue. He could be a great rebounder though, and should offer some good shot blocking ability as well.

[JasonStern]

however, this time of year, I've heard very similar reviews on Qyntel Woods, Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje, Sebastian Telfair (sorry SBE), Sergei Monia, Sergio Rodriguez, Martell Webster, Taurean Green, Jerryd Bayless, Jeff Pendergraph, Eliot Williams, Armon Johnson....they were all, at one time or another, dominating practices. I'm always skeptical until I see it in real games.

difference being that Portland wasted picks on all of those players (except Bayless and Pendergraph, which lived up to their draft ranking). if Harkless or Uncle Cliffy 2.0 pan out, it's just free talent, although I take it to mean that they are merely the front runners for the last two roster spots.

[TBpup]

I sure hope it's true and will translate to the regular season

however, this time of year, I've heard very similar reviews on Qyntel Woods, Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje, Sebastian Telfair (sorry SBE), Sergei Monia, Sergio Rodriguez, Martell Webster, Taurean Green, Jerryd Bayless, Jeff Pendergraph, Eliot Williams, Armon Johnson....they were all, at one time or another, dominating practices. I'm always skeptical until I see it in real games.

of course, we heard the same about Brandon Roy and Lamarcus Aldridge, so who knows

Exactly. They are always going to be "better than most people think" or "going to surprise" and wait until Barrett's hyperbole gets ahold of the description.

'Hey, it might be a tough season and they're not projected to finish very high but I've seen this team practice and they could really come out and be better than expected. They are going to surprise some people and you know with Coach Stotts they are going to play hard and with energy.'

By the time the sales job is done and the number for tickets is is given out, some fans will be thinking playoffs,,,,,as happens to almost every teams fans this time of year due to the homeriffic local media.

This season is about development and getting a very good draft pick for the future.

[DusterBuster]

I sure hope it's true and will translate to the regular season

however, this time of year, I've heard very similar reviews on Qyntel Woods, Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje, Sebastian Telfair (sorry SBE), Sergei Monia, Sergio Rodriguez, Martell Webster, Taurean Green, Jerryd Bayless, Jeff Pendergraph, Eliot Williams, Armon Johnson....they were all, at one time or another, dominating practices. I'm always skeptical until I see it in real games.

of course, we heard the same about Brandon Roy and Lamarcus Aldridge, so who knows

Yeah, hard to take anything seriously right now. Fun to read, but the proof will be when the ball hits the court.

[Wizenheimer]

I sure hope it's true and will translate to the regular season

however, this time of year, I've heard very similar reviews on Qyntel Woods, Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje, Sebastian Telfair (sorry SBE), Sergei Monia, Sergio Rodriguez, Martell Webster, Taurean Green, Jerryd Bayless, Jeff Pendergraph, Eliot Williams, Armon Johnson....they were all, at one time or another, dominating practices. I'm always skeptical until I see it in real games.

of course, we heard the same about Brandon Roy and Lamarcus Aldridge, so who knows

Yeah, hard to take anything seriously right now. Fun to read, but the proof will be when the ball hits the court.

say hardwood...when you say court I think of the jailblazers

[JasonStern]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/CSNNW/status/650411809153748992[/tweet]

[Masterfully]

There goes the championship.

[Norm2953]

Tough break for Alexander for he needed the time on the court to solidify a spot on the roster.
If he's out too long, he could be out of the league.