Maurice Harkless saved a nearly lost season by fixing his attitude; now he is an integral part of the Blazers starting lineup.
No player gave the Blazers more gray hairs than Maurice Harkless. He began the season a starter and failed to make an impact. Not long later, Harkless criticized the team for running solely through three players. He was tired of running up and down the court not contributing.
Related Story: Moe Harkless concerned with role in Blazers offense
Terry Stotts benched Moe; we’re still unsure of the correlation between those two events. Nonetheless, Stotts relegated his starting forward to a deep bench position. Playing 0 minutes in consecutive games affected Harkless’s attitude – when the bench celebrated a big basket, he remained on the bench with his arms folded and hood up.
But the mood shifted when Moe saw film of himself doing this. He decided to work hard and earn back a spot in the lineup. His return to the rotation sparked a 13-game win streak for the Blazers.
Harkless summarized the rollercoaster year, “Parts of the season were tough for me to deal with, mentally. But I just fought through it…and things turned around towards the end of the season.”
Neil Olshey and Terry Stotts spoke with Harkless prior to his exit interview about the craziness of 2017-2018. They want to see him begin next season strong, avoiding the attitude problems and benching from this campaign. Olshey and Stotts stressed his importance to the team, citing Moe’s role in the impressive win streak.
Playoffs
Like the rest of us, Maurice Harkless would’ve laughed if someone told him New Orleans would sweep Portland in the first round. Despite the disappointing ending, however, Harkless is still pleased with the Blazers’ season.
His absence contributed to the four-game sweep. Moe rushed back from arthroscopic knee surgery completed three weeks before and missed two of the four playoff matchups. The team expected him to miss Game 1, but he sat Game 4 due to fatigue from coming back quickly.
Harkless expects his knee to be 100% soon thanks to the extra rest. According to him, the post-Game 3 flare up was normal and nothing to worry about.
Next: Where were you when Damian Lillard hit "The Shot"?
Maurice Harkless was the only player not to speak about his summer plans during the exit interviews. Instead of a asking about it, reporters simply wished him a good summer after a brief five-minute media session.