March 17, 2011

Part of the reason for the improved play has been the improved health of Elias Harris. Harris is clearly still not back to 100% in his recovery from the Achilles injury that has hampered him all year, but at least he's not at 50% any more. Harris's strength is his athleticism - it's his main asset on offense, defense, and the glass. It's also what he's missed this year because of the injury. If asked to just catch-and-shoot, Harris isn't especially effective; if asked to just create in the post, Harris isn't that effective. He does a modicum of both, but he needs his athleticism, his abilities to run the court and take slower forwards off the dribble, to realise his offensive potential, and to have much of an impact defensively. He got past people through physical tools more than ball skills, and he's not been able to do that as much this season. Improving his handle, his lower body strength for post-up situations, and his jumpshot, would all help mitigate that, but it hasn't happened yet.

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