Al Harrington - Why No More PT ? - Golden State Of Mind

Al Harrington - Why No More PT ?

by All About The W on Jan 27, 2008 10:42 AM PST Comment 12 comments

One thing that I have not been able to understand for almost 12 months now, is Nelson's constant criticism of Al Harrington. I have seen every Warrior game for the past eight years (nearly half of them in person), and I see Al as an extremely valuable piece of the team. When he shoots well, we ALWAYS win. Stats prove that.

If you are a fan of the +- statistic (which I know a lot of GSOM readers are), look at the below chart from www.82games.com:

    Production    On Court/Off Court    Roland
Player    Min    Own    Opp    Net    On    Off    Net    Rating
Perovic
0%    50.2    -12.5    +62.7    +14.7    +1.8    +12.9    +42.8
Davis
81%    23.7    16.2    +7.5    +4.9    -10.8    +15.6    +10.8
Watson
6%    11.0    7.5    +3.4    +12.4    +1.2    +11.2    +6.5
Harrington
57%    18.2    15.9    +2.4    +5.0    -2.4    +7.4    +4.4
Jackson
68%    16.0    13.7    +2.2    +3.2    -0.9    +4.1    +3.0
Ellis
72%    18.3    16.7    +1.6    +2.9    -0.9    +3.8    +2.5
Croshere
10%    14.2    14.0    +0.2    +5.5    +1.4    +4.1    +1.8
Biedrins
57%    20.3    23.4    -3.1    +2.5    +1.0    +1.5    -1.3
Azubuike
49%    15.4    15.0    +0.4    -3.7    +7.2    -10.9    -4.1
Barnes
42%    14.5    21.9    -7.4    +1.4    +2.2    -0.7    -4.7
Pietrus
31%    12.8    19.3    -6.6    -1.3    +3.3    -4.6    -5.8
O'Bryant
4%    17.1    26.1    -9.0    -7.8    +2.2    -10.0    -9.4
Hudson
4%    6.2    16.6    -10.4    -6.2    +2.2    -8.4    -9.6
Wright
5%    15.5    23.4    -7.9    -13.1    +2.7    -15.7    -11.0
Belinelli
7%    3.3    11.7    -8.4    -15.5    +3.2    -18.7    -12.5
Mbenga
6%    7.4    26.2    -18.7    -8.9    +2.6    -11.4    -15.8

The second to last column shows a Net +- of +7.4 for Al, compared with +4.1 for Jack, +3.8 for Monta, and a NEGATIVE +/- for almost all other Warriors (BD clocking in at an impressive +15.6, but we already knew how important he was to the W's success...)

Obviously, you have to throw out Perovic and Watson due to the small sample size. But other than that, Al is far more valuable to the team (according to this statistic) than anyone else but Baron. I tend to agree. Every time I watch a game, I say to myself "Al should be getting 35-40 minutes per game, not 28".

Furthermore, you almost always see Nelson screaming at Al (sometimes for no reason whatsoever) and never at Jackson, BD, etc. I am afraid that this poor treatment of Al Harrington may be causing him to sometimes lose some confidence in himself.

We all love BD, Jack, Monta, and Andris. I think we should show some more love to Al, who in my opinion is an absolutely crucial part of our team, and the key to our playoff success. Last season, we made it to the second round despite a very poor showing from Al. If he can step it up in the playoffs this year, he could be the difference between second round and something even better.

Thoughts ?

This FanPost is a submission from a member of the mighty Golden State of Mind community. While we're all here to throw up that W, these words do not necessarily reflect the views of the GSoM Crew. Still, chances are the preceding post is Unstoppable Baby!

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Seems to me

Nelson yells at him because he has lapses on defense and doesn't rebound like Nelson wants

Also I think because of personailites and status he doesn't yell at Jax or Baron.

Barens and Al, he must think, respond to abuse

by Zig on Jan 25, 2008 4:54 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

yup

by GameSix on Jan 27, 2008 4:56 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Nelson

often plays whoever had a "hot hand" and maybe he's partially responsible for Harrington's positive numbers by playing him more minutes when he's going good, while pulling him quickly when he's not ...

playoff performance will likely depend on health and matchups ...

by hardcore on Jan 25, 2008 5:11 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Last night vs the Nets..

When AL made those threes last night, he didnt run back on defense and Monta had to yell at him for him to get out of his moment..

Even he admited to it during the post game show on KNBR..

by Delinquentsoul on Jan 25, 2008 5:16 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

He's always been like that...

Al's always let his emotions interfere with his game. I think his mental toughness has to be questioned... A couple examples from last night's game alone,
Remember in the beginning of the 4th how bad we looked? Nobody was playing defense and nobody could hit nothing. Just before we went off for 20 straight, the Nets collected an offensive rebound and put it back in. Al was devasted. Baron told everyone to pull their head out of their asses and raged down the lane for a forced lay up. That mental toughness will win you games.

That's EXACTLY what seperates Harrington from Davis, Ellis, Jackson, and Barnes. Players who approach the game with that iron state of mind after they've just been kicked in the throat are what seperates them from the rest. I think Jim Barnett's explained many times that if you don't have mental toughness in this league, youre going to have a tough career. You can have all the talent in the world and your name being Kwame Brown or Tim Thomas, but if you aint game, then your ability blinks on and off like a flashlight with a low battery. Never consistent but just flashes of what it could be.

Going back to that same play, after the put back from the Nets, Harrington hung his head in frustration, lazily collected the ball and walked off the court for the inbounds pass. I was thinking to myself What the hell is that? We don't need that kind of bullshit when we're down by 10 with 11 minutes to go... he was acting like he already lost.

It aint cool watching your starting $8 power forward pouting and wallowing one minute, then going super duper hyphy hyphy after he hits four 3 pointers...so damn excited with himself he doesn't even have the frame of mind to get back on defense. Monta Ellis is tough. In all facets he's tough. He approaches the game thinking, "What can I do to exploit my opponent. What can I do to take advantage of this? How will we win?" While I look at Harrington and his reactions to everything that happens on the court, I just get the feeling he's thinking, "When's my big F'in moment?" I NEVER see Al using his abilities to their fullest potential...and everyone know's he's got it. Frustration...

I'm mad at Al now because I realize that he fooled me into believing he was going to have a career year. He came to camp in great shape feeding the writers cherries fooling everyone including myself. We listened to Nellie Tales about a new man who could rebound, and outquick and shoot the lights out. Then he has a huge 30 + game early in the year and we're all convinced.

But now I can clearly see that the man is not strong in his emotions. He wont stay the course if something goes wrong, and the 3 point shooter now becomes the bricklayer, and he stays the bricklayer, refusing to take any intiative in the post or the defensive glass... and come playoff time, he will retire during the race....I dont want to see us fall short because of the disappearance of a guy we depend so much on to stretch the defense. But I think it will happen.

I would rather trade Harrington and his remaining 2 or 3 years worth $8 mil. for Artest. Convince Sacto that Al's outside game will complement Spencer Hawe's inside game, we ride Artest at point forward next to Jackson and Davis and we see how far this insanely good defensive squad gets us...Then we turn em loose in the offseason before he drives Nellie nuts. The man's clearly phsycotic, but he can ball, and he's an expiring contract. WE NEED CASH at the end of THIS year, if we want to keep Monta, Andris, Buki, and still search for that elusive star big man.

I think Al's a good guy, but we need to get better now.

This is my team There are many like it But this one is mine. My team, without me is useless. Without my team, I am useless

by BlueNgoldBlood on Jan 25, 2008 7:04 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Re: Mental Toughness vs Numbers

I have definitely seen glimpses of this....Al getting down on himself when he's struggling and just not there for stretches of games. However, DESPITE all of this, his numbers are far superior to a lot of other W's numbers, including Jackson's. Despite stretches and games in which he goes 2-for-11, look at the following numbers on the season:

45.2% FG percentage, third on the team behind Biedrins and Monta (despite taking all those threes....that's a respectable FG%).

40.7% 3-pt FG%, best on the team (besides for CJ Watson)

77.5% FT% - respectable

5.4 rebounds -- while the number itself isn't impressive, Al's pulling these down in only 28 minutes on the court....this means that if he were playing 40 mins like BD and Jax, he'd be pulling down 8 rebs a game. Isn't that what we wanted from him in the first place ?

I don't know, but I think that I would want a guy with the above numbers to shoot the ball more, and to be on the court more. Sometimes I see Jack and BD putting up off balance fadeaways and jumpers with a hand in their face, and I cringe. Yes, those two are our team leaders, but they also shoot a very low FG percentage.

It makes for an interesting debate, but there have been numerous times this season when as soon as a game ended, the first thing I thought about was why didn't Al get more playing time.

If we trade him, who knows what will happen. But I'm not in the business of creating trade scenarios that almost never materialize. I would instead like to make the best of our current roster, which I like very much. No matter how you slice it, I think our current roster would be best off with Al getting more minutes. That's my two cents...

by All About The W on Jan 25, 2008 9:43 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Yes but remember...

Davis, Jackson and comp. suffer from lower FG %'s than Harrington's because they are innitiating offense. They are almost always being gaurded by one or more defenders and are shooting contested shots, and driving through traffic...

However, Al Harrington, if there was a stat for open shots taken, Al would lead the team in this category significantly as well. I think your points are correct, but you also have to consider that the majority of Harrington's points come from open jumpshots. Unfortunately, he misses many as well. I would just prefer him to be more consistent and start utilizing other areas of his game. If not, then I think we can do better with another player.

When Al is on top of his game, there isn't a better player for the Warriors. The only problem is he hasn't been on the top of his game, and dissappears in the most crucial moments too often.

This is my team There are many like it But this one is mine. My team, without me is useless. Without my team, I am useless

by BlueNgoldBlood on Jan 25, 2008 9:55 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

YES

but...nothing. so well said (ignore the haters).

straight g

by RC650 on Jan 26, 2008 1:22 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I can't really respect Harrington

when he almost always refuses to follow up his shots to try to get a rebound! I never played organized basketball but I thought a fundamental is to follow your shots. I never see Harrington make that effort and it drives me nuts. Am I the only person who notices this or is it my imagination?

You call me ancient, I say "oldguysrule"

by commish on Jan 25, 2008 11:08 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Disappearances

See, I think that Al sometimes disappears and gets too hard on himself because Nelson instills no confidence in him. Al makes ONE mistake, and Nelson pulls him out of the game.

Jack makes five mistakes in three minutes, nothing. I really like Nelson, but I think he's mishandling Al Harrington. I think if he gave him a more stable role (35+ mins per game) and didn't pull him after one tiny mistake, Al would be a more confident person and player, and he would become mentally tougher over time.

His numbers are fine -- they are actually very good. He just needs more confidence, and I don't think our coaching staff has instilled very much of it in him, besides for the few compliments during Hawaii training camp.

I would limit Jackson's minutes from 40 to 35, I'd leave Pietrus on the bench, and automatically transfer all of those minutes to #3.

by All About The W on Jan 25, 2008 11:12 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

I agree...

Al does need more playing time. However, he could be replaced by someone like Barnes who grabs more rebounds and is a much better passer.

Jack stays in the game regardless of his mistakes because he's one of the only Warriors that can initiate offense for himself as well as others. He racks up a lot of assists for a SF.

by kinetic on Jan 26, 2008 12:03 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs