If you only look at the score, you will not see that today's game between the Heat and the Hornets played double overtime, the 111-107 score appeared mediocre, and even Heat coach Spoelstra admitted that it was an "ugly victory". In the Hornets, which did not even win the "ugly victory", Harrell's performance was more eye-catching. He had three starting minutes (43 minutes) ahead of his team, a team-high 24 points and eight rebounds.
From the Rockets to the Clippers to the Wizards and Hornets, Harrell can be described in one sentence as "super six everywhere you go." He's a player with a lot of strengths and slots, and his topicality is no less than other best sixth-man award winners. He doesn't seem to be able to stay long in all the teams, and there will be waves before and after leaving, but there are always teams that will happily include him in the squad. He is such a unique being.
Harrell was born on 26 January 1994 in Tarboro, North Carolina. He is the son of Samuel and Serena, the eldest of three children in the family. In his early years, Harrell attended North Eichcombe High School in his hometown, where he was 2.01 meters tall and has never grown taller since. In his final season of high school, Harrell came to Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Virginia, where he averaged 25.2 points and 13.6 rebounds per game and led the team to 38 wins and 1 loss.
At first, Harrell promised to join Virginia Tech, following his favorite coach, Seth Greenberg. But after the latter left class, Harrell withdrew his promise and re-opted the University of Louisville.
Harrell started off the bench in his freshman year, but in the final of the Great Eastern Conference Championship at the end of the season, he scored 20 points to lead the team to victory over Syracuse University, so he became famous. Harrell was both fortunate and unfortunate. Fortunately, during his freshman year, the University of Louisville won the NCAA championship by beating the University of Michigan 82-76 in the NCAA finals; unfortunately, the championship was later stripped away by the NCAA.
In his sophomore season, Harrell's performance improved by leaps and bounds, averaging 14 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, shooting 60.9%, and was named the most improved player in the ACC division and was selected as the best player in the division. Various media outlets believed that Harrell would be elected in the latter part of the first round that year, but Harrell still decided to fight another year in the NCAA. In his junior year, he averaged 15.7 points, 9.2 rebounds per game and shot 56.6 percent from the field, making him the ACC Division's Best Second Team player and winning the Carl Malone Award, which was awarded to the NCAA's No. 4 player of the year.
Perhaps because he spent an extra year in college, Harrell was selected by the Rockets in the 2015 draft after falling to the 32nd pick in the second round. In the rookie season, Harrell averaged 9.7 minutes per game, scoring only 3.6 points, but in the second season, he averaged 18.3 minutes per game and had 9.1 points and 3.8 rebounds, shooting 65.2%. A good seedling of an attacking interior line jumped into the eyes of NBA fans.
A deal opened a new chapter in Harrell's NBA career. In the 2017 offseason, Harrell was sent to the Clippers along with six players including Beverly, Sam Decker, Andewe, as well as the 2018 first-round pick.
Coming to the new environment, Harrell's performance is also rising. At that time, the Clippers were in a transition period, and while saying goodbye to the "City of Air Connections", the Clippers were looking forward to the new generation of leaders to join. Harrell joined the first season, and the Clippers won 42-40, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2011. But in the 2018-19 season, the Clippers made a splash. They won 48-34 and played six games in the first round against the defending champion Warriors with Durant, which made the world look at them and paved the way for the arrival of Jr. and George in the offseason of the same year.
Harrell climbed to the peak of his career in the 2019-20 season. He averaged 18.7.1 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game that season, bringing home the Best Sixth Man Award, becoming the third Super Six from the Clippers after Jamal Crawford and Lovell, and also giving the Best Sixth Man Award the fifth visit to the Clippers in seven years.
But it was also from the 2020 offseason that Harrell's career entered a mixed trajectory. In the offseason of that year, Harrell switched from the Clippers to the new branch champion and the lakers in the same city, which caused an uproar in the league. The Clippers were originally coming to block the Lakers, but they were reversed after leading the Nuggets 3-1 in the second round of the West Zone in 2020, and watched their city rivals win their 17th crown. This scar has not yet been healed, and Harrell's "defection" is more like adding a new wound to the Clippers. The Clippers are said to have expressed shock at Harrell's choice.
It was also at this time that the contradictions between Harrell and Cacho were revealed. There are reports that Harrell is unhappy with George's performance on the field, shelling George for "You're always right, no one can say anything about you!" There are reports that the privilege of the little card in the Clippers has angered "old ministers" such as Harrell, Lovell and Beverley. The media also captured that after the Clippers' defeat in the playoffs, Harrell whistled all the way back to the locker room, looking disapproving.
Since then, Harrell has also fallen into a strange circle: every time he leaves a team, he will always complain to his old club for days. In the first round of 2021, the Lakers lost to the Suns to defend their title, and Harrell, who was heavily used at the beginning of the season, lost sharply after Drummond joined and was marginalized during the playoffs. He played just four games in the first round, averaging just 9.8 minutes and 5.8 points and 2.5 rebounds. In this regard, Harrell was angry and complained on the social media: "The worst feeling is that it is a waste of time." ”
As a result, the Lakers could not stay. In the Westbrook deal, Harrell again came to the Wizards with Kuzma and Pope. At the beginning of the season, the Wizards soared, once occupying the top spot in the East Side, Harrell could not hold back, shelling the Lakers and saying, "Last season I was not really used well, I felt like I wasting a season." ”
What happened next is familiar to everyone. The Wizards were gradually beaten back to their original form. Earlier this month, after losing to the Suns 80-95, Harrell fired at the Wizards, saying that the atmosphere in the Wizards dressing room was terrible, which was seen as a sign that he would leave the Wizards again. Sure enough, 5 days later Harrell's name reappeared on the trade list, this time to the Wasps. After making his Hornets debut, Harrell said in a tone of voice: "This is the most refreshing game I have played in this time." ”
In addition to attacking his old club, Harrell did not forget to praise the new owner: "It is a blessing to be in the big family of the Hornets, and I can't wait to see what happens to the rest of the schedule." "Just for his statement, it is difficult for fans to give much positive response.
When it comes to Harrell, his strengths and weaknesses are clear. He has excellent finishing ability under the basket, excellent feel, can hold the ball with footsteps, can also predict, the speed and explosiveness are amazing, and the ball style is positive, dare to fight. But he was limited by his height and lateral speed and was always powerless on the defensive end. In addition, his range is limited, and the means of attack are single and lack of variation.
In short, Harrell is a presence that cannot be ignored, and it is also a "topic maker". His play style is "not three or four" but there is still a market in the league; his "big mouth" always invites trouble but never knows how to restrain; he completes the counterattack as a second-round show, to each team can play a super six role, and has also been rated as the most underrated player. The NBA has more talk because of him, and different colors. (Supine Braces/Hairy)