Devin Harris' Terrible Defense

[Erick Blasco]

Devin Harris has already been a poor defender since joining the Nets in New Jersey, but Nets’ fans and their coaching staff were willing to live with the inefficiency when he is being productive on the offensive end. However, when he struggles on offense (which is what happened this year), his defensive lapses become much more of a glaring problem. The strange thing about Devin’s defensive struggles is that he has all the skills to be a good defender. He’s quick, long, and has good foot speed, but he is just lazy in his technique. Instead of using his feet to beat offensive players, he reaches and goes in for steals way too much, this gets him caught flat-footed and is what gets him beat by slower points:

 

On this play, Devin is leaning too far forward, so when Carlos Arroyo makes his move to the basket there is no way that Devin can keep up. He manages to take one last swipe at the ball, but Arroyo gets to the rim.

 

And here, as Jarrett Jack pulls back his dribble, Devin Harris gets out of his defensive stance and walks towards the basketball. Jack takes advantage of Devin getting too tall in his stance and he attacks the basket hard. These aren’t elite level point guards taking it to Devin either. These are just your run of the mill points who are embarrassing Devin and getting to the basket.

 

 

http://nbaplaybook.com/2010/08/10/can-he-bounce-back-devin-harris/#more-4576

[Guru]

Good read. But as far as the defensive videos shown they were just really lazy plays by Devin. Can you really blame him when your team is playing like they did last year? The driving to the basket thing was a solid point though, he should really look to finish instead of just looking to draw the foul.

[Universe]

Last years Net team should be thrown out which is why I hate trading Lee.

 

Kiki pretty much sums it up and Harris was shifted to an offensive role and asked less of him on the defensive end last year which resulted in an All-Star season.

 

Though people say "Harris will return to his All-Star season", we should aim for his Maverick sucsess as he was stellar on the defensive end while Nets added plenty of offense to ease the pressure from him.

[Erick Blasco]

His play is a major reason why the Nets played as poorly as they did. Bad habits are bad habits.

[Universe]

His play is a major reason why the Nets played as poorly as they did. Bad habits are bad habits.

I wouldn't say that with two starting gaurds traded and the starting powerforward. The starting small forwards are also without jobs while the bench is also unsigned or cheap. A reason but not the reason.

[Erick Blasco]

I wouldn't say that with two starting gaurds traded and the starting powerforward. The starting small forwards are also without jobs while the bench is also unsigned or cheap. A reason but not the reason.

 

If Devin Harris had a season like his 2008-09 season, the Nets don't come close to approaching the worst record in NBA history. He took the first 90% of the season off, and his play and the Nets' play reflect that.

[Universe]

If Devin Harris had a season like his 2008-09 season, the Nets don't come close to approaching the worst record in NBA history. He took the first 90% of the season off, and his play and the Nets' play reflect that.

That 08-09 Devin Harris also had Vince Carter which helped greatly. Injuries and lack of three point shot hurt Harris the most. I'm not saying Harris didn't dog it but putting Kiki in at coach pretty much summed up what the season was.

[Klashnekoff]

Harris needs to work with Avery on his high pick and roll passing .. we need him to just focus on assists and getting the ball up court effectively ..

 

Lopez is our best player .. you cannot say otherwise so we need Harris to take that role of the general on the court and implement that in his passing meaning he needs to be more assertive and get that ball to Lopez ..

 

We could have been far better last season if we were better at running a effective pick and roll offense between our key players Harris and Lopez.

[Teletopez]

I would be more concerned about Harris' unexpected performances last year if we had a better coach, if he were healthy, if the rest of the team were more productive, if he didn't prove his all-star ability the year before, etc. It was a long season, and as a fan, you can get tired of the losses and switch the channel, but the players are still on the court even after the arena that already started with 6,000 seats empty is nearly cleared out. It takes a big mental hit on you when all you're playing for is the number of ping-pong balls in a lottery machine with a good part of the season remaining.