Even though I predicted that starting Harrison would diminish his defense, I'm stunned at the degree this has proven to be true and it's just taken 5 SL games and 2 preseason games. He did defend well in SL, at least during the games I was able watch - the first three. But the half a game I was able to watch in preseason he hasn't applied any ball pressure (Fox easily outplayed him when i watched) - and comments from others didn't suggest he did so in parts I didn't see. The only positive thing I picked up from the boxscores was that he got five blocks in two games - but that is not a great indication because he usually gets his blocks from behind when his man gets by him on the dribble - so he making up for a prior mistake.
The question becomes: is he already ruined? Hopefully not, but it's going to take getting pushed down in the PG rotation. Personally, I'd start someone else over him and even bench him to make the point that he must defend at his best if he wants to play. I rather doubt that Kokoskov willl take such drastic measures. He didn't get to observe how Bledsoe's D fell off once he was a starter.
It's hard to argue that Harrison should meekly accept a lesser role for the good of the team when he knows that starting PGs make 3 to 10 times as much money as backups. By a fluke he got his chance to show what he could do as a starter before he was ready for it - and he is blowing it. In his case I think his choices will come down to: play demon defense off the bench or go to an easier league.
Last year I remember him saying that defense was his calling card. He'd best remember that soon.
Or maybe he wasn't all that good of a defender to begin with...
I am just saying I would not use them to back up my takes. Every once in a while Gambo tells us some news we didn't know.
