Pooh
04-09-2004, 07:39 AM
Top 6th man or not, Harrington grows up
He's always wanted to be starter, but his game has thrived since accepting his role with Pacers.
By Mark Montieth
[email protected]
April 9, 2004
Al Harrington has been rather inconspicuous for the Indiana Pacers lately. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing for him or them.
The reserve forward has grown to accept his role, and therefore has played like a starter. He's scored in double figures in 13 of the past 15 games, and had eight and nine points in the others.
That sort of consistency is exactly what the Pacers have been seeking from Harrington, whose ambition and emotion have been both a blessing and a curse. Sometimes wildly enthusiastic, other times absorbed in his frustration, he's more recently been the best thing a sixth man can be: steady.
"I'm just playing," said Harrington, a New Jersey native who along with the rest of the Pacers will face the New Jersey Nets tonight at Conseco Fieldhouse.
"I'm just letting the game come to me and whatever happens happens. I'm not concentrating on any one thing. Just trying to play hard. Bring the effort defensively and at the offensive end let it happen."
All this has taken place since the Pacers returned from their four-game Western Conference trip that ended in Denver on March 7. Harrington averaged just 4.7 points while hitting 7-of-19 shots over the final three games of that trip and lost his customary place in the lineup at the end of games.
He was noticeably disconsolate after the third game of the trip, at Utah. While his teammates enjoyed the victory, he sat in front of his locker, staring at a copy of the box score on the floor.
"For him, it's not about scoring," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said at the time. "If he's not playing with force, it's hard to keep him on the floor, because we've got other guys who can do it."
In the 16 games since, Harrington has averaged 13.5 points on 52 percent shooting. That's not much better than his season average of 13.1 points on 46 percent shooting, but he's been far more consistent. He's scored between eight and 18 points and grabbed between five and 11 rebounds in every game.
Harrington claims simple self-realization as the basis for his turnaround. No lectures, no lightning bolts, because as Jermaine O'Neal said, "that's something you've got to want yourself."
"I've been really focusing in on letting the game come to me," Harrington said. "I'm not going into any game expecting anything or having any goals of doing certain things. Since I've been doing that, everything's been working out fine."
It also helps that the bone bruise below his right knee, suffered in a one-on-one game with O'Neal two days before training camp, is almost healed. He wore an ice pack on it after Wednesday's win at Toronto, but that was from a collision while chasing a loose ball into the team bench in the previous night's game against New York, and is not a serious concern.
At the moment, nothing is. Harrington has never hidden the fact he wants to start. He and his teammates consider him an All-Star-caliber player but for lack of opportunity. Harrington has fought a long battle to merge his ambitions with team goals, and he appears to have done so in the past month.
"He's just comfortable," O'Neal said. "He's knowing his role and being happy with his role. . . . Not getting the looks like a starter gets is frustrating, but he's a guy that's really put his personal issues aside and is doing whatever it takes to help us win."
Harrington's recent play has solidified his candidacy for the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year award, something he might have earned two seasons ago had he not ruptured knee ligaments.
The only Pacer to have won the honor is Detlef Schrempf, in the 1990-91 and 1991-92 seasons.
It's not quite the honor Harrington dreamed of receiving when he joined the Pacers five years ago, but it would be a start.
And a measure of his maturity.
"I just realized being upset about certain things, it didn't matter," he said. "It just came down to what I was doing out there on the court and that's making sure I was productive."
He's always wanted to be starter, but his game has thrived since accepting his role with Pacers.
By Mark Montieth
[email protected]
April 9, 2004
Al Harrington has been rather inconspicuous for the Indiana Pacers lately. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing for him or them.
The reserve forward has grown to accept his role, and therefore has played like a starter. He's scored in double figures in 13 of the past 15 games, and had eight and nine points in the others.
That sort of consistency is exactly what the Pacers have been seeking from Harrington, whose ambition and emotion have been both a blessing and a curse. Sometimes wildly enthusiastic, other times absorbed in his frustration, he's more recently been the best thing a sixth man can be: steady.
"I'm just playing," said Harrington, a New Jersey native who along with the rest of the Pacers will face the New Jersey Nets tonight at Conseco Fieldhouse.
"I'm just letting the game come to me and whatever happens happens. I'm not concentrating on any one thing. Just trying to play hard. Bring the effort defensively and at the offensive end let it happen."
All this has taken place since the Pacers returned from their four-game Western Conference trip that ended in Denver on March 7. Harrington averaged just 4.7 points while hitting 7-of-19 shots over the final three games of that trip and lost his customary place in the lineup at the end of games.
He was noticeably disconsolate after the third game of the trip, at Utah. While his teammates enjoyed the victory, he sat in front of his locker, staring at a copy of the box score on the floor.
"For him, it's not about scoring," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said at the time. "If he's not playing with force, it's hard to keep him on the floor, because we've got other guys who can do it."
In the 16 games since, Harrington has averaged 13.5 points on 52 percent shooting. That's not much better than his season average of 13.1 points on 46 percent shooting, but he's been far more consistent. He's scored between eight and 18 points and grabbed between five and 11 rebounds in every game.
Harrington claims simple self-realization as the basis for his turnaround. No lectures, no lightning bolts, because as Jermaine O'Neal said, "that's something you've got to want yourself."
"I've been really focusing in on letting the game come to me," Harrington said. "I'm not going into any game expecting anything or having any goals of doing certain things. Since I've been doing that, everything's been working out fine."
It also helps that the bone bruise below his right knee, suffered in a one-on-one game with O'Neal two days before training camp, is almost healed. He wore an ice pack on it after Wednesday's win at Toronto, but that was from a collision while chasing a loose ball into the team bench in the previous night's game against New York, and is not a serious concern.
At the moment, nothing is. Harrington has never hidden the fact he wants to start. He and his teammates consider him an All-Star-caliber player but for lack of opportunity. Harrington has fought a long battle to merge his ambitions with team goals, and he appears to have done so in the past month.
"He's just comfortable," O'Neal said. "He's knowing his role and being happy with his role. . . . Not getting the looks like a starter gets is frustrating, but he's a guy that's really put his personal issues aside and is doing whatever it takes to help us win."
Harrington's recent play has solidified his candidacy for the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year award, something he might have earned two seasons ago had he not ruptured knee ligaments.
The only Pacer to have won the honor is Detlef Schrempf, in the 1990-91 and 1991-92 seasons.
It's not quite the honor Harrington dreamed of receiving when he joined the Pacers five years ago, but it would be a start.
And a measure of his maturity.
"I just realized being upset about certain things, it didn't matter," he said. "It just came down to what I was doing out there on the court and that's making sure I was productive."