Gary Harris is the Nuggets' postseason wild card: Why he could be close to finding his offensive rhythm

Gary Harris swears he was a better football than basketball player while starring in both sports at Hamilton Southeastern high school in Fishers, Indiana.

He chose basketball, a decision that paid off in a big way when the 24-year-old secured a well-deserved four-year, $84 million extensions with the Nuggets in 2017. But the former wide receiver still puts his football skill-set to use when need be, like when he runs a fly pattern straight down the floor and gets on the receiving end of a full-court Hail Mary pass from Nikola Jokic.

You could bet your house that Harris would have been a blue-chip free safety too based on his defensive acumen and how he watches a play develop from a distance, reads an opposing guard’s eyes, jumps the route and takes the ball back the other direction in basketball’s equivalent of a pick six. Harris had two steals Sunday in the Nuggets’ 115-108 loss to the Trail Blazers, but it was his offense and the shooting guard’s 18 points on 8-12 shooting that should excite Denver.

There’s been a clear pattern to how Harris’ game has matured with age. When Harris came into the league, he was strictly a 3-and-D driver, cutter and shooter on offense. As his game grew and skill-set expanded, Harris has taken the bumpers off his floor game. He’s comfortable operating in isolation now. Harris can put the ball through his legs once, twice, or three times, beat his man off the bounce, and get all the way to the rim or step back for three. In 2017, which was by far Harris’ most efficient offensive season to date, he averaged 1.77 dribbles per touch. This year he’s averaging 2.10 dribbles per touch.

Harris doesn’t shoot at the rim as much as he used to. In 2016 and 2017 — the two seasons where Harris established himself as a franchise cornerstone — 41% and 44% of his field goal attempts respectively came at the rim. Harris only attempted 31% of his shots at the rim in 2018 and has shot 35% of his field goals from that area on the floor this year, a bit of an increase but still not close to the distribution he enjoyed in 2017 when the Michigan State product shot 50% from the field and 42% from three.

Harris looked like the 2017 version of himself against the Trail Blazers, darting and driving towards the hoop whenever presented with the opportunity. Harris hasn’t enjoyed the same level of explosion around the rim — likely due to a myriad ailments which have included a hip injury and a hamstring strain this year — that he’s had in recent seasons, but Sunday was a bit of a throwback.

Here’s one of Harris’ drives Friday against Portland.

Here are two from Sunday.

The Nuggets sat three of their top players against the Trail Blazers as Nikola Jokic, Paul Millsap and Jamal Murray all rested. Harris did not. It was a sign that while Harris has been banged up all season and is surely at risk to another injury as long as he’s on the floor, Denver needs its two-guard to rediscover his offensive rhythm before the playoffs. Harris is shooting just 42.2% from the field and 34.2% from three this season, both of which are the lowest percentages he’s shot since his rookie year. Sunday, however, was a step in the right direction as Harris missed just three shots all night and his 18 points were the most he’s scored in a game since March 6.

When he’s this type of offensive weapon, the Nuggets’ ceiling rises a notch or two.

On the Nuggets’ first possession of the game, Harris went hard to the rim, sought out contact and drew two free-throws.

The transition 3 that Harris sunk in the first quarter ended personal a 2-17 slump from distance. Harris is shooting 38.1% on catch-and-shoot 3s this season after nailing 41.3% of his catch-and-shoot triples a year ago. An encouraging stat that makes you believe Harris’ 3-point shooting can come around is that he’s shooting only 29.9% on wide-open 3s. Last season he shot 43.6% on 3s of that variety.

Eight of Harris’ 12 field goal attempts in the Nuggets’ latest matchup with the Trail Blazers came in the restricted area, one came from the paint, one was from the mid-range, and two were from beyond the arc. It was an ideal distribution from Harris and the type of offensive performance Denver will need from its shooting guard in the playoffs.

It’s easy to forget that Harris came into this season widely regarded as the Nuggets’ second-best player. His two-way prowess is nearly unrivaled on Denver’s roster and Harris is unanimously regarded as the Nuggets’ best perimeter defender if you poll Denver’s coaches. His feel for the game on that end of the floor and defensive IQ jumps out whenever you watch Harris play alongside Murray, Malik Beasley and Torrey Craig. He always knows where to be, can read offenses two passes ahead of time and can glide around incoming screens and dribble-hand-offs at a level and preciseness that those three can’t.

The Nuggets will need Harris’ defense come playoff time, but they’ll require his offense too if Denver hopes to make a significant playoff run. When Harris plays at the level he did in Portland, the Nuggets, with their full cast of characters, are an elite team. When he’s not, Denver is still very talented and versatile, but Harris is a wildcard that shifts the Nuggets into a different gear.

In the playoffs, the Nuggets will need Harris to go across the middle and seek out contact, get to the line, and rediscover his effortless stroke from beyond the arc. He can take the top off the defense when he’s in that type of an offensive rhythm.