A look at Moe Harkless’ defensive challenge with the Miami Heat, and his plan of attack
Moe Harkless is not a small player. The NBA lists Harkless as a 6-7 and 220-pound wing.
But with the Miami Heat expected to ask Harkless to guard a position up and defend power forwards at times this season, he’s going to find himself at a disadvantage when it comes to height and/or weight in most of those situations.
“It’s going to be a challenge to consistently guard guys giving up weight, but it’s a challenge that I’m up for,” Harkless said, with the Heat set to play its second and final game of the preseason Friday against the Toronto Raptors in Tampa. “I have my advantages when it comes to length and speed, so I just use those advantages.”
Harkless, 27, is the next in line of Heat forwards/wings who have been asked to take on the challenge of guarding bigger players. Shane Battier (6-8, 220) did it during the Big 3 era, and even Jae Crowder (6-6, 235) and Derrick Jones Jr. (6-6, 210) filled that role at times last season.
Harkless’ first attempt in a Heat uniform at defending a bigger player did not last very long. Matched up against New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (6-6, 284), Harkless fouled out after just 14 minutes of court time with 6:49 remaining in the third quarter of Miami’s preseason opener on Monday at AmericanArilines Arena.
“The fouling is always frustrating,” said Harkless, who signed a one-year, $3.6 million deal to join the Heat in free agency this offseason. “I obviously want to be on the floor. I think in the first half, I think I came out once I got the third one in the first quarter. Obviously, that’s frustrating. You want to be on the court as much as possible. The fouling, yes it’s annoying.
“I think it was probably a bit of it just being my first time being back out there on the floor since March. So it’s kind of just catching back up to the speed of the game. You can’t really simulate that. I’ll take care of that, just being back in the flow of things.”
It’s worth noting that Williamson’s unique combination of size, strength and athleticism make him a matchup nightmare for most players who defend him. Williamson averaged 22.5 points with 190 of his 210 made shots coming from inside the restricted area last season as a rookie.
“Facing a really explosive, powerful power forward in Williamson,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said when asked to explain Harkless’ foul trouble in the preseason opener. “... In a normal game, I would have subbed for him. But I let him play through the foul trouble just to get those extra reps.”
In the past, Heat players have put on weight or shed weight to prepare for certain roles. But Harkless said adding weight isn’t part of his plan.
“I think you got to be comfortable in your own skin,” he said. “I’m not going to change who I am. I’ve tried to put on weight before, but a lot of times it just doesn’t work and I don’t really feel comfortable playing too heavy. I find where I’m comfortable at and I do that. I don’t think I lack strength. I feel like I’m pretty strong, especially for somebody my size. So I just go in confidently with that.”
While Harkless might find himself at a disadvantage defensively when it comes to size at times this season, he’s focused on leveraging his own advantages in those matchups: quickness and a 7-2 wingspan.
“Obviously I was giving up weight, but I was using my feet, using my arms and using my length to make things hard for him,” Harkless said of his strategy against Williamson. “Make it hard for him to catch the ball. That’s something that I continue to work on. That’s what they’re asking me to do, so it’s just something that I got to be good at.”
A lot of that comes down to fronting the post and limiting players’ catches around the basket.
The Heat is confident that Harkless has the tools to fill that role, with Crowder and Jones leaving Miami as free agents this offseason. Harkless is known as an above average defender who can guard multiple positions, and he recorded 16 multi-steal games and nine multi-block games last season.
While consistent playing time is not guaranteed for Harkless as part of a Heat roster that features 13 realistic rotation options, quality defense is his most likely path to game minutes.
Harkless split last season between the Los Angeles Clippers and New York Knicks. He averaged 5.8 points while shooting 50.2 percent from the field and 34.7 percent on threes, 3.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists.
“The main thing that I’ve been having a conversation with coach Spo about is just elevating the level that I do everything at,” Harkless said. “Kind of just trying to be great at everything I do. You know what I mean, whatever I’ve done up to this point, just do more to be better. That’s kind of what he has been preaching to me and that’s kind of how we’ve been approaching it. Just been trying to give him everything I got and he has just been trying to pull everything out of me.”
This story was originally published December 17, 2020 at 8:55 AM.
