Los Angeles Clippers: Montrezl Harrell is ready to break out in 2018-19
Expected Role
Offense
Harrell was an offensive beast for the Clippers off the bench last season. He was able to produce 1.47 points per possession on isolation plays, which put him at the 99.6th percentile of qualified players. On transition plays, he was in the 94.6th percentile with 1.40 PPP. As the roll man on pick and roll plays? 94.7th percentile with 1.40 PPP. As a post up player? 84.3rd percentile with 1.01 PPP. That is just flat out insane.
His per 36 minutes statistics further show just how good he was. Per 36 minutes, he would average 23.3 points, grab 8.5 rebounds and dish out 2.1 assists. Those stats would put him right on par with Blake Griffin’s best season.
Here is the rub though. Most of Montrezl’s impact comes from his incredible amount of energy. If he were actually to play major minutes, that impact might drop off as fatigue sets in. It is a tough balance to keep his production high while managing minutes. Harrell may feel poised to play more often but Doc will have to keep an eye on how he is able to handle the workload.
Most of his points come right around the rim, where he shot 73.7% last season. He loves to dunk, but may need to start working on other ways to finish at the rim as his career goes. Still, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander likely leading the bench unit, Harrell will likely find plenty of easy attempts at the rim.
Defense
Harrell is not the best defender. Despite being primarily listed as a power forward, but will likely play the backup center role. He is listed at only 6’8 but his strength at 240 pounds will likely help him on this end. He does have a 7’4 wingspan which helps make up for the lack of height.
His strength and agility will be his biggest benefit on the defensive side.
He did cause a slight decrease in shots missed on plays he defended, with a 1.3% difference in opponents field goal percentage versus on plays he defended. Since he doesn’t thrive as a shot blocker, Harrell must find other ways to stop the ball. Last season, he drew 0.14 charges per game. While this doesn’t seem like a lot, it does matter. He was doing this in only 17.0 minutes per game.
During the 2017-18 season, Harrell posted an even 0.0 defensive box plus/minus score. In fact, that is his career average DBPM through three seasons. Basically, he did not help nor hurt the Clippers on the defensive end of the court. Coaches won’t mind that as long as he produces on the offensive end, he will be fine. Besides, SGA and Luc Mbah a Moute will be off the bench with him most of the time and can pick up some of the defensive slack.