Mavs' Harris working on jump shot

[mavsfan1000]

Mavs' Harris working on jump shot

Mavericks point guard knows he needs to improve in that area to retain his starting spot

[By David Moore / The Dallas Morning News]

Devin Harris peels off his jersey and steps into the whirlpool after an early morning workout.

His frame is more muscular than it was a few months earlier. A tattoo stretches the width of his shoulder blades, an addition coach Avery Johnson mentioned when the two had lunch recently.

Some changes are obvious. But it will take several months for us to learn if Harris has added what he needs most.

A consistent jump shot.

There's no need to dance around the subject. Harris doesn't. Ask what he concentrated on this off-season and a slight smile creases his face.

"Let's see," he says. "Jump shots, jump shots, jump shots."

On this morning Harris worked out with teammates Jason Terry, Jerry Stackhouse, Erick Dampier, DeSagana Diop and Anthony Johnson. He finished the session with 300 or so jump shots. He will repeat that routine later in the afternoon.

Harris estimates he has averaged 600 to 700 jump shots every day for the past month. He doesn't launch these from indiscriminate parts of the court. The point guard only works on shots he's likely to see in the flow of the Mavericks offense.

The ball leaves Harris' hand differently than it did when he was the Big Ten Player of the Year at Wisconsin. The rotation is off. That is why Harris will work with Gary Close, the man he calls his shooting coach, before camp starts in two weeks.

Close is an assistant with the Badgers. Before that he was an assistant in Iowa where he worked with B.J. Armstrong, who went on to sink a few jump shots while starting next to Michael Jordan for the Chicago Bulls.

The Mavericks would not have gotten past San Antonio in the second round if it weren't for Harris. His speed changed the complexion of the Spurs series, but his impact waned over the final two rounds.

Miami backed off Harris and dared him to shoot, something he did at a 36.4 percent clip in The Finals. When he did drive to the basket, he was greeted by Shaquille O'Neal, Alonzo Mourning or sealed on the baseline with no way to finish the play.

"I had pretty much a great run at San Antonio, but the last two series I could have played better," Harris says. "The way Miami was playing me, it was almost like they were playing five-on-four. They weren't respecting my outside touch.

"In the regular season, you may get away with it. But the further we went in the playoffs ... It frustrated me."

Johnson didn't have to tell Harris to work on his jump shot this off-season. Harris doesn't want to be known as a one-trick point guard, someone with blazing speed who can't hit an uncontested jumper to save his team's life.

If Harris can't make opponents respect his jump shot, he will find it harder and harder to drive to the basket.

If Harris doesn't develop a jump shot his coach can trust, the starting job the third-year player craves won't materialize.

"Am I going to come in and say something stupid like, we have five positions that are open?" Avery Johnson asked. "That's just coach's talk and sound bites, but no. Dirk [Nowitzki] is starting no matter what kind of camp he has. Josh Howard is starting. Jason Terry is starting. Now, we'll talk after that."

Harris, Anthony Johnson and Greg Buckner will be given the chance to start next to Terry. Since Avery Johnson is committed to moving Terry off the ball even more this season, the competition will come down to Harris and Anthony Johnson.

Harris has the speed. Anthony Johnson has the experience. He's a true point guard and the sort of self-made player Avery Johnson admires. The coach won't hesitate to turn to the former Indiana guard if Harris isn't up to the challenge.

"It's wide open," Harris said of the starting job. "But it's something I'm going to try to claim."

His push for the starting job officially begins in less than two weeks with the start of camp.

That's time for Harris to take at least 7,800 more jump shots.

[dirk4mvp]

Damn. More arsenal to his game. :tu

[ChumpDumper]

Every good player with a shitty shot has this story written about him every summer. Only the names of the players and shooting doctors change.

[atxrocker]

i like devin. dude's gonna be solid. spotlight of the mavs for me. potential all-star material. glad to hear he is growing.

[nkdlunch]

an NBA player working on his jumpshot!??!?!

omg, he's allstar material! :rolleyes

[MosesGuthrie]

Props to a young player who actually cares about his jumpshot.

[mavs>spurs2]

an NBA player working on his jumpshot!??!?!

omg, he's allstar material! :rolleyes

Why the sarcasm? Devin Harris is a great young prospect, I don't know why you wouldn't like his chances of becoming an all-star.

[Rip-Hamilton32]

Why the sarcasm? Devin Harris is a great young prospect, I don't know why you wouldn't like his chances of becoming an all-star.

read what you said then you will understand

[Bruno]

Devin Harris is a great young prospect, I don't know why you wouldn't like his chances of becoming an all-star.

Harris isn't a "great" prospect and I doubt that he will be one day an all star given that there are something like 10 young PGs who are better than him or who are better prospects.

[mavs>spurs2]

Harris isn't a "great" prospect and I doubt that he will be one day an all star given that there are something like 10 young PGs who are better than him or who are better prospects.

:rolleyes I guess we're all entitled to our opinions, no matter how stupid they are.

[mavs>spurs2]

i like devin. dude's gonna be solid. spotlight of the mavs for me. potential all-star material. glad to hear he is growing.

:tu

[Bruno]

:rolleyes I guess we're all entitled to our opinions, no matter how stupid they are.

You can roll your eyes as much as you want and said that my opinion is stupid but truth is that Harris isn't that great. As I said before he isn't even a top10 project/young PG.

[Amarelooms]

You can roll your eyes as much as you want and said that my opinion is stupid but truth is that Harris isn't that great. As I said before he isn't even a top10 project/young PG.

Umm if Parker is a top 10 pt guard now then Devin can be as well. Devin is super quick and if he adds some weight along with developing a jumper he can be a Kevin Johnson like point gaurd. Stop being a homer for once genius. :elephant

[mavs>spurs2]

Don't worry guys there's enough hate to go around. All mav players will be bashed at some point or another, at least on this board.

[Bruno]

Umm if Parker is a top 10 pt guard now then Devin can be as well. Devin is super quick and if he adds some weight along with developing a jumper he can be a Kevin Johnson like point gaurd.

If ....




Stop being a homer for once genius. :elephant

:lmao
A mavs fan saying that I'm an homer because I don't overrate a mavs player.
Go read the definition of homer in the dictionary, genius.

[confined]

name 10 young prospects that r better than harris then

i can think of 2 ....paul and hinrich

[Bruno]

Don't worry guys there's enough hate to go around. All mav players will be bashed at some point or another, at least on this board.

I'm not bashing him, I've just said that he isn't a great prospect. The fact that he is a mavs player has nothing to do with what I say, I don't hate mavs player.

[mavs>spurs2]

Umm...Bruno I hope you know that Devin Harris and Tony Parker are very similar, the main difference being Parker has more experience as a starter and go to guy. They are both super quick point guards who like to penetrate and struggle with the outside shot. So explain to me again how Tony Parker is so great and Devin Harris doesn't even have a chance of becoming an all-star?

[Bruno]

name 10 young prospects that r better than harris then

i can think of 2 ....paul and hinrich

Telfair
Ford
Hinrich
Felton
Nelson
Arenas
Paul
Parker
Williams
Livingston

[Bruno]

Umm...Bruno I hope you know that Devin Harris and Tony Parker are very similar

Having similar way to play doesn't mean that you have the same level.
Look at what parker has done, look at what harris has done and don't forget that Parker is only 9 month older.

[confined]

Telfair
Ford
Hinrich
Felton
Nelson
Arenas
Paul
Parker
Williams
Livingston

i dont kno about u but i wouldnt say parker and arenus r prospects...no way in hell would i ever take telfair over harris...ford maybe...felton no...nelson yes...livingston its a toss up...and i dont kno which williams ur talking about here

[Bruno]

i dont kno about u but i wouldnt say parker and arenus r prospects...no way in hell would i ever take telfair over harris...ford maybe...felton no...nelson yes...livingston its a toss up...and i dont kno which williams ur talking about here

I haven't said 10 best prospects but 10 best young players/prospect. i've said that because harris won't be an allstar if 10 players around his age who plays PG are better than him. And Williams is Deron Williams.

[Dre_7]

Devin Harris came into my work a couple a months ago.

[mavs>spurs2]

Lmao he puts Sebastian Telfair over Devin!!!!! I give up.

Telfair is a team killer just like his cousin Stephon Marbury, except he doesn't even put up the flashy numbers.

[JMarkJohns]

Harris is a fantastic talent, but it'll take a while for the KJ comparison to take any root. KJ shot 49% for his career and in his prime (before his half-dozen knee surgeries), was a consistant 20+ point, 10+ assist PG who routinely took it to the best PG's in the game's history (Magic, Stockton, Payton)...

With a 50% jumper, Harris will challenge for an All-Star appearance, but KJ was the #1 player on a Western Conference Finals team (22.5 ppg, 11.4 apg, 50% FG) that averaged roughly 114.9 points per game. I doubt Harris will ever be that on a team that does that.

The skills may be similer, but the players will never be the same.

I do really think highly of Harris' potential, but I've learned that some players just never max said potential because while all the physical tools and skills are there, the brain never allows it all to work to its fullest. Harris, like Leandro Barbosa, may be that type.

[Dirk Nowitzki]

In 2-3 years Harris will be much much better then Parker along with many other pgs. The guy is mentally and physically tough and this was only his 2nd year. God I am excited to see how he does this year. Who knows, he might even surprise everyone and make the all star team this year!! :elephant

[ducks]

In 2-3 years Harris will be much much better then Parker along with many other pgs

please stop using crack

[confined]

In 2-3 years Harris will be much much better then Parker along with many other pgs. The guy is mentally and physically tough and this was only his 2nd year. God I am excited to see how he does this year. Who knows, he might even surprise everyone and make the all star team this year!! :elephant

i wouldnt go that far dirk

[mavsfan1000]

i wouldnt go that far dirk
I wouldn't totally be surprised if he did that. It depends on how much he has improved that jump shot. If he shoots them as well as Parker than I think that might be enough to be a all star but there's a long way from him being as good as Parker from jumpers.

[RON ARTEST]

good thing kevin martin is quick because if we kept bonzi devin harris would get by him over and over again.

[mavsfan1000]

good thing kevin martin is quick because if we kept bonzi devin harris would get by him over and over again.
No way Terry or Harris could guard Bonzi Wells. Dallas would have to insert Buckner into the lineup instead of Harris.

[RON ARTEST]

No way Terry or Harris could guard Bonzi Wells. Dallas would have to insert Buckner into the lineup instead of Harris.
maybe they wouldnt be able to guard the contract year bonzi but im sure they can handle the waste of talent lazy inury prone bonzi that would have had a 5 year contract if he came back. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rhgv2KAApr8 kevin will make me and everyone else forget about bonzi.

[Bruno]

Ford- Injury prone, too skinny
Felton- Too early to tell, but similar skill level
Nelson- Harris is better
Williams- Deron? Harris has the edge right now


Ford - You aren't injury prone after one big injury.
Felton - He has averaged 15/7 in the 54 games he has started this season. I know it's Charlotte but it's still impressive for a rookie.
Nelson - He is a 16/6 player since the Francis trade.
Williams - He has been quite good at the end of the season. Even if Harris has the edge right now (and it's debatable), Deron is the better prospect because he is 1 year younger and has one less year in the league.

And for that dumbass that called me "he", you can't be a team killer in portland because there is no BB team in Portland. Don't forget that Telfair is more than 2 years than Harris and that he was a HS guy while Harris has played 3 years in college, Telfair is more talented and is the better prospect.

Most people consider Harris as a top prospect because he was drafted in the top5 but you had to consider that he hasn't been that great in the league for two years.

[confined]

Ford - You aren't injury prone after one big injury.
Felton - He has averaged 15/7 in the 54 games he has started this season. I know it's Charlotte but it's still impressive for a rookie.
Nelson - He is a 16/6 player since the Francis trade.
Williams - He has been quite good at the end of the season. Even if Harris has the edge right now (and it's debatable), Deron is the better prospect because he is 1 year younger and has one less year in the league.

And for that dumbass that called me "he", you can't be a team killer in portland because there is no BB team in Portland. Don't forget that Telfair is more than 2 years than Harris and that he was a HS guy while Harris has played 3 years in college, Telfair is more talented and is the better prospect.

Most people consider Harris as a top prospect because he was drafted in the top5 but you had to consider that he hasn't been that great in the league for two years.

so ur expecting harris to put up 15/6 on a team with dirk, terry , howard, stackhouse, ect.....dotn think so ...he was a back-up his past 2 years, where as williams, nelson, and felton were starters, and on sucky teams

[Bruno]

so ur expecting harris to put up 15/6 on a team with dirk, terry , howard, stackhouse, ect.....dotn think so ...he was a back-up his past 2 years, where as williams, nelson, and felton were starters, and on sucky teams

First, I haven't said that Harris should average 15/6 to be a top10 prospect/young PG but the truth is that he is far from that (10/3).

Playing with a sucky team can help but you had to consider too that playing with a great team has some edge : the defense is less centered on you, the atmosphere is way better... All in all the edge of playing with a sucky team is real but not as great as what you think.

You can wonder why Harris hasn't played more with Dallas this year when you realize that Mavs weren't that deep/great at guard spots. Maybe it was because Harris isn't good enough to get playtime over Daniels/Armstrong/Griffin.

Concerning Williams, Nelson, and Felton :
- Williams wasn't really on a sucky team and has made a promising rookie season when you consider that Sloan is one of the worst coach for young players (check Jazz former draft picks/young players).
- Magics were far from being a sucky team at the end of the season when Nelson was the starter, they were one of the hottest teams in the league.
- Felton was on a sucky team but he was a rookie not a sophomore like Harris.

[mavsfan1000]

You can wonder why Harris hasn't played more with Dallas this year when you realize that Mavs weren't that deep/great at guard spots. Maybe it was because Harris isn't good enough to get playtime over Daniels/Armstrong/Griffin.

What stopped Harris from getting more minutes is Terry and injuries. If Harris stays healthy he will have a great year next year imo.

[Bruno]

What stopped Harris from getting more minutes is Terry and injuries. If Harris stays healthy he will have a great year next year imo.

Harris has played a lot with Terry and Terry at SG isn't something that Avery don't like (just look at what he wants to do for the next year). There are 96 min at PG/SG : Terry plays 35 min, Stackhouse 15 min (he has to be the backup SF too), 46 min were available for Harris.

Harris will likely be better next year and I wish for him and Mavs fans that he stays healthy. Unless a big improvement, I don't consider Harris as a quality starting PG. I will be curious to see how Avery will handle the situation with his two average starting PG : Johnson isn't known to be a great lockeroom guy and two PGs without a clear starter isn't an easy thing to handle (like Sonics last year).

[leemajors]

What stopped Harris from getting more minutes is Terry and injuries. If Harris stays healthy he will have a great year next year imo.

with terry signing a big extension is he gonna be giving up that pt?

[The Great Fantastic]

Why don't you talk about Josh Howard making the all-star team first. He actually has a legitimate chance. Devin Harris will not be an all-star.

[picnroll]

If the knock on Parker is that he can't distribute multiply that times 100 for Harris. Jameer Nelson is a helluva lot better. When Harris can shoot then maybe he can work on going to his right.

[mavs>spurs2]

I will never understand you people.....so Harris just sucks right? No all-star potential? Remember he plays very similar to Parker but is even faster in my opinion.

[confined]

yeah and he did pretty much worry pop enough for him to change his starting line-up...harris will be an all-star someday easy

[dirk4mvp]

People just never get tired of hatin'.

[Bruno]

yeah and he did pretty much worry pop enough for him to change his starting line-up...

:lol
Harris wasn't the reason why Spurs have changed their lineup. Dirk is the one who creates the missmatch.



People just never get tired of hatin'.

:wtf
I see no hate in this thread.

[mavs>spurs2]

Dirk is the one who creates the missmatch.

Learn to spell mismatch and then maybe we'll talk basketball. Ignorant people are so annoying. You don't know what the hell you're talking about when it comes to Devin so just stop talking while you're ahead.

[ShoogarBear]

Miami backed off Harris and dared him to shoot, something he did at a 36.4 percent clip in The Finals. When he did drive to the basket, he was greeted by Shaquille O'Neal, Alonzo Mourning or sealed on the baseline with no way to finish the play.

Hey, what a concept!

Fuck small ball.

:pctoss

[z0sa]

harris = one trick pony. He can shoot all he wants, but he'll never be known as a shooter of any sort. and if spurs played big, he wouldnt have done shit against us either, and the mavs would of lost ....

[Bruno]

Learn to spell mismatch and then maybe we'll talk basketball. Ignorant people are so annoying. You don't know what the hell you're talking about when it comes to Devin so just stop talking while you're ahead.

So let's sum up what you've said :

- I'm an "ignorant people" because I can't spell mismatch. I'm not sure that doing some spelling mistakes in english that is my third language means than I am an ignorant people.

- My opinion is stupid and I'm ignorant about Devin : you say thing like that without bringing something revelant to back up your claims. Very interesting.

- "Harris just sucks right ?" : saying that Harris isn't a great prospect isn't the same thing that saying he sucks.

- "Devin Harris and Tony Parker are very similar" : that's your main argument. Either you say that they have the same style of play and it means nothing : Cabarkapa and Tskitishvili have the same style than Dirk after all. Or you mean that Harris is as good as Parker or close to Parker's level and it's clearly false : just look at Parker's two first years in nba (and don't forget that Parker was two year younger than Harris when he entered in the league).

To sum up, you've said nothing relevant or correct and you claimed that I'm ignorant. :lmao

BTW, I won't judge you since I don't know you, but by reading what you've written in this thread, I'm not interesting at all to talk BB or another subject with you

[mavs>spurs2]

So let's sum up what you've said :

- I'm an "ignorant people" because I can't spell mismatch. I'm not sure that doing some spelling mistakes in english that is my third language means than I am an ignorant people.

Ignorant person, not people.

- My opinion is stupid and I'm ignorant about Devin : you say thing like that without bringing something revelant to back up your claims. Very interesting.

I say you are ignorant about Devin because you obviously know nothing about him when you say that he isn't a great prospect. He has the tools to be successful in the league if he can just develop a consistant jumpshot. If teams have to respect his outside shot and play him tight, he can use his speed to blow by the defender. I can see him being an all star in 2 years, assuming he develops a consistant outside shot.

- "Harris just sucks right ?" : saying that Harris isn't a great prospect isn't the same thing that saying he sucks.

Not a great prospect? He is one of the quickest players in the league and played a huge role in beating the spurs last season. He's very young and only been in the league 2 years, not to mention Nelson stunted his growth his rookie season by starting him then quickly losing confidence in him and benching him. Last year he rebounded from his rookie season to have a promising season. Devin could easily be an all star in the next 2-3 years.

- "Devin Harris and Tony Parker are very similar" : that's your main argument. Either you say that they have the same style of play and it means nothing : Cabarkapa and Tskitishvili have the same style than Dirk after all. Or you mean that Harris is as good as Parker or close to Parker's level and it's clearly false : just look at Parker's two first years in nba (and don't forget that Parker was two year younger than Harris when he entered in the league).

I said Tony Parker and Devin Harris play similarly, but that was never my main argument. My point here is that he has all the tools necessary to be just as successful as Tony.

To sum up, you've said nothing relevant or correct and you claimed that I'm ignorant. :lmao


BTW, I won't judge you since I don't know you, but by reading what you've written in this thread, I'm not interesting at all to talk BB or another subject with you

That's fine by me because you obviously don't know enough about the NBA to have an intelligent conversation. Your evaluation of Devin Harris is totally false and i'm guessing you really haven't seen him play much, or else you would have a different opinion of him. Plus your English skills are terrible and sometimes it's hard to even understand what you are trying to say.

[LaMarcus Bryant]

600-700 is not that much, reggie miller used to shoot thousands of threes a day

[confined]

i seriously think u guys r retarded...the spurs played small ball cuz they HAD TO...ok?....cuz pop wated bowen on dirk...that leaves one of the bigs guarding howard or stackhouse on the perimitor..which ya kno...they cant do...cuz he couldnt let TD guard dirk cuz hed foul out in 10 mins...so pop actually made a smart move...they just didnt have the players to make it work...so if u dont get it by now then there is seriously soemthign wrong with u...so just stop with the fuck small ball cuz if u didnt play it u woulda lost in 5 and each of those 4 loses being 15-20 point beatings liek game 2 was

[Bruno]

blah ... insult ... blah ... blah ... nothing interesting ... insult ... blah ... blah

:lmao You're pathetic when you are owned.
I've wasted too much time with you and I won't answer to your stupid posts anymore.

[mavs>spurs2]

:lmao You're pathetic when you are owned.
I've wasted too much time with you and I won't answer to your stupid posts anymore.

You're pathetic for thinking you've "owned" anyone. You won't respond to my posts because I am right and you are wrong so you have nothing else to say. And by the way, I never insulted you besides the fact that your English is terrible.

[T Park]

Parker is a top 10 pt guard now then Devin can be as well

Yeah right.


In 2-3 years Harris will be much much better then Parker along with many other pgs


God I wish there was a troll weeder on this site.

[dirk4mvp]

:wtf
I see no hate in this thread.


:wtf Are you blind?

[Bruno]

:wtf Are you blind?

Where?
give me an example.