"Every possession matters": Why Gary Harris can be a Game 7 X-factor

The Nuggets knew Donovan Mitchell was going to be a handful. Mike Conley’s savvy and Rudy Gobert’s interior presence was surely going to frustrate Denver at some point.

But Jordan Clarkson?

Clarkson’s scoring punch crushed the Nuggets’ spirit time and time again over the first five games of their first-round series. Utah’s sixth man poured in 19 points per contest on 49% shooting from the field in Game 1-5. He was knocking in 40% of his three-pointers as well.

Clarkson didn’t have close to that same kind of impact in Game 6.

The biggest reason why was Gary Harris’ return to Denver’s lineup. After injuring his hip during a practice shortly after arriving inside the Disney World bubble more than one month ago, Harris reemerged for Game 6, logging 21 minutes off the bench and holding Clarkson to just 11 points (5-14 FG’s, 1-6 3FG’s). He helped the Nuggets to a 119-107 win as Denver staved off elimination and forced a Game 7 (6:30 p.m. ABC/ALT).

“To welcome him back in an elimination game I think was reassuring to our players. Our guys trust Gary. I trust Gary,” Michael Malone said. “He went out there and defended at a high level.”

Harris’ defensive numbers against Clarkson and the Jazz in Game 6 were impressive.

• Harris was a +16 in 21 minutes off the bench.
• Denver had an 88.4 Defensive Rating in Game 6 with Harris on the floor (second-best on the team behind Mason Plumlee).
• Harris had three deflections (tied for the team’s second-most behind Nikola Jokic’s five) and one steal.
• Harris guarded Clarkson for 4:01, per NBA.com tracking data, or 13 possessions.
• Clarkson shot 1-5 for 2 points with Harris as his primary defender.

Harris’ impact was really felt on these five plays:

I loved this possession from Harris. An area where the Nuggets have gotten themselves into some trouble this series is by switching too easily on defense, which plays exactly into the Jazz’s hand. Here, Harris slips over not one but two ball screens so Utah can’t switch get Michael Porter Jr. switched onto Clarkson. Harris then sticks with Clarkson all the way to the rim where the Nuggets’ help-side defense is able to collapse and get a stop.

This next Utah possession starts with Harris again chasing Clarkson over a screen (great job by Mason Plumlee stepping up to the level of the ball and deterring Clarkson), and the ball eventually gets swung to the opposite wing. Then, watch Harris as Conley picks up his dribble.

He quickly closes down on Clarkson and denies him the ball for the rest of the possession. Conley’s forced to give the ball up to Gobert and Denver’s defense closes down.

This steal from Harris was preceded by him again shadowing his matchup over a Gobert screen. Nikola Jokic’s presence higher up the floor also seems to catch Mitchell a bit off guard and Harris is able to poke the ball loose from behind.

Here, the Jazz get Porter switched onto Clarkson, but Harris stays close by and at the ready to help the rookie. It would be a dangerous gamble for most considering Harris is guarding a lights-out shooter in Georges Niang.

As Clarkson drives, Harris stunts in his direction and Clarkson has to alter his dribble to avoid Harris’ outstretched left hand. Clarkson’s rhythm is thrown off a bit and he turns the ball over.

This next play starts with Harris shutting down Clarkson’s baseline drive (he gets some help from Torrey Craig too). Then, Harris stays under the hoop as Clarkson filters back out to the three-point line waiting for O’Neale to attempts to take Porter off the dribble. Harris cuts off O’Neale and Plumlee’s still in good position to defend Tony Bradley in the paint.

The ball eventually gets kicked out to Clarkson and Jamal Murray’s able to rotate over and get a decent contest. This is a shot that Clarkson has made all series, and he also had Niang wide open on the opposite wing. Denver may have been a little lucky here but it’s an example of how active Harris can be on the defensive end. His instincts are top-notch too.

In Games 5 and 6, the Nuggets dialed up their defensive effort. Denver has the NBA’s worst defense in the playoffs — mostly due to some putrid early-series defense, and Mitchell, Conley, O’Neale, Niang and Joe Ingles shooting the leather off the ball and nailing some extremely contested shots — but the Nuggets held the Jazz to just 44 points on 43% shooting across the third and fourth quarters to win Game 5.

In Game 6, Denver allowed 36 points in the first quarter but limited the Jazz to only 71 points on 36% shooting over quarters two, three and four. Utah only scored 12 paint points after the first quarter as well. Despite Murray’s 50 points, 21 of which came in the fourth, Michael Malone credited the Nuggets’ defense for Denver’s Game 6 win.

“Our defense will be the key to getting past the Utah Jazz,” Malone said Monday.

If that’s so, I wouldn’t be shocked if Harris plays more than the 21 minutes he logged in Game 6, especially if he can avoid foul trouble (Harris committed five fouls.) The Nuggets liked how Harris handled the Clarkson matchup in his first live game minutes since March 11 and Denver also thought Craig had success guarding Conley.

“Gary, his ability to defend is just something that comes natural to him,” Malone said. “He takes pride in it. He’s able to sit down and guard, move his feet. He’s strong. He’s physical. And I think the most important part of it is that Gary wants to. To be a really good defensive player you have to have that want and take pride in it. And that’s what Gary does.”

Ahead of Game 7, the Nuggets seem loose. Denver just played in back-to-back win-or-go-home games, so the Nuggets know what they’re up against. Like when Denver won in Utah earlier this season with only seven players and on the road in Milwaukee without three starters, this version of the Nuggets also typically thrives when their backs are against the wall.

“To be honest I think we just played relaxed,” Jokic said of the Nuggets’ Game 6 effort. “Maybe people think that we’re playing under pressure. Right now we are just playing relaxed. We don’t have nothing to lose.”

The Nuggets have roared back from a 3-1 deficit one game at a time. Malone knows his team can find a rhythm quickly, and when he looked back at Denver’s season recently, he was sure to let his players know they had winning streaks of seven, six and four-games (twice) this year and that the Nuggets also beat the Jazz three times before the regular season was suspended.

“We didn’t look at it as mission impossible,” Malone said.

Harris, Jokic, Murray, Craig, Plumlee, Paul Millsap and Monte Morris have all played in Game 7’s before too. Denver got two of them under its belt last season. The Nuggets won’t be in foreign territory tonight.

“It’s something where we’ve been here before,” Malone said. “Our guys understand that every possession matters and I think we’ll have a comfort level because of the fact that we’ve been here before last season and in Game 5 and 6. It’s more of the same for us.”