Al Harrington is smarter than us
The Warriors center helps preview tonight’s game vs. Dallas, talks about Bay Area fans, pressure and why we shouldn’t be so surprised about an upset.
by Ben Collins
Al Harrington is in a Metroplex restaurant waiting for an 11 p.m. dinner the night before one of the biggest games of his life and he says something that comes off as shockingly, fork-droppingly unprepared.
“I’ll try to negate some of it with quickness, but you look at Dallas and they don’t look to get their center involved too much,” he says. “I heard we’ll see a lot more Devin Harris.”
And I laughed. Over the phone. Not in this series, buddy. They’re not going to try to outrun you. You have better guards. That would be inane; you’d run them into the ground. I know more than you, Al Harrington. Everybody knows more than you.
He’s smarter than this, he must have listened to Nellie in the video room. This was obviously not an answer sufficient to this man’s intellectual capabilities. Al is well-spoken, so I gave him a second chance. How are you going to defend Erick Dampier because you inevitably will, thank you very much.
So, politely, he answered – he’ll “try not to post bigger guys and give up the size, but if I get past them, there’s nothing they can do” – and I walked away happy for when the Dallas Mavericks strutted out Erick Dampier as their starting center in Sunday night’s Game 1 against Golden State Warriors, when the bigger team would slow down and pound away a smaller Warriors team that had no way to matchup.
This didn’t happen.
Avery Johnson started Dirk Nowitzki, a power forward or small forward, at center, just like Don Nelson has started Harrington, a power forward or small forward, at center for weeks. Avery Johnson started two point combo guards, Devin Harris and Jason Terry, just like Don Nelson has started two combo guards, Baron Davis and Monta Ellis, for weeks. Johnson started two small forwards, Josh Howard and Devean George. So did Nelson (Stephen Jackson, Jason Richardson).
Golden State had better guards. It was inane. The Warriors ran the Mavericks into the ground.
Warriors 97, Mavericks 85. Erick Dampier played two minutes.
Al Harrington is smarter than me.
Because Harrington and the Warriors know something we don’t know: this style of play, most of the time, wins championships. The Warriors are playing that style better than anyone else right now, and dragging people into their trap in the process.
“If you can’t find a true center, this is the best way to go,” says Harrington, the team’s makeshift big man. “A lot more championships are won that way, spreading the defense and rebounds around. And it’s more exciting basketball, too.”
So when Don Nelson told the 6’9” Harrington that he was going to play center, he didn’t think 67-year-old coach was fast approaching senility. He’d seen in it before, just never with this type of results.
“In Indy, most people don’t remember, but for 15 games of the season, I was the starting center. When he told me I was playing center, I was excited,” said Harrington. “And, when we tried it, I was like, ‘Wow.’ The way we spread the floor, got to the free throw line and got open threes, it was working.”
But there was something still hampering this Warrior team that they had to fix if they wanted this chance to bring the Warriors their first playoff series in 12 years and their first playoff win in 14. Even new school, run-and-gun teams need old school 4th quarter determination. And that steal of a midseason trade that brought Harrington and Jackson to Oakland for Troy Murphy and Mike Dunleavy only got the job three-quarters done.
“What happened was, we would play ‘em tough until the fourth quarter,” says Harrington. “We had this meeting after that Knicks game (a 106-97 loss) and we said we have one more push in us. We lost our next game to Washington – we felt we were cheated at the end there – but from that point on, we were dedicated. We needed to make the playoffs. That was the turning point.”
And therein lies the other Warrior secret that was revealed the other night – this team is more dangerous in the fourth quarter than the lightning on their logo. Baron Davis’ turnaround fadeaway jumper after leaning three after turnaround fadeaway jumper in the fourth quarter proved just that in the franchise’s biggest game in a decade.
“I’m one of the leaders, yeah, but the biggest leaders are Baron and Jax (Stephen Jackson),” said Harrington. “The team has a big trust in them. I’m one of the guys that ‘s just gonna come in and works hard and have people follow.”
So Harrington will lead a Warriors team into Dallas tonight that is already rolling, already talented and already confident. Harrington thinks the floor on a team like this is 50-wins with a training camp’s with of continuity in them. And they’ll win all 50 with a smile on their faces.
“This is fun – that’s another thing I try to tell these guys about pressure: we have no pressure,” he almost yells it while he laughs. “With Dallas, everything but an NBA Championship is a pressure. We’re finished already. We’re the underdogs. We’ve just got to go out there and get it done. I like where we’re at.”
Now, the Avery Johnson has said that he will again go back to smallball, buckling to the Warriors trap. Both in terms of pressure and now style of play, it is the Warriors’ series to lose. And with homecourt advantage for a group of fans that have “just been incredible,” Harrington and the Warriors have a strong chance to bring a 2-0 lead home to Oracle Arena.
“I can’t wait to see how they react to us on Friday,” said Harrington.
Oh, and there was one other thing I laughed at, right before I hung up the phone.
“How many games can we win it in?” asked Harrington. “I’m gonna say four.”
After Sunday night, I’m not laughing at Al Harrington anymore.
50 Responses to “Al Harrington is smarter than us”
Apr.25 at 2:39 pm
Ryan Jones says:
Al is good people.
Apr.25 at 2:44 pm
Ben Collins says:
Yep, awesome guy. Went way out of his way the night before a playoff game. (Secretly still have Mavs in 6.)
Apr.25 at 2:51 pm
ALX8725 says:
I’m a Warriors fan and I dont think Warriors are gonna upset Dallas in the big picture, I pick Dallas to win in 7. But expect the Warriors to show the world what they are capable of and to finally earn the respect that they deserve.
Apr.25 at 3:00 pm
ALX8725 says:
Al is on point with the way the Warriors play defense in their smallball lineup (which is very effective and pesky), and if Avery adjusts to this to battle the Warriors with a smallball lineup, just remember, the Warriors have been playing their style of defense with their smallball lineup longer than Dallas has been playing defense with their (Dallas’s) smallball lineup. Can Avery’s smallball lineup get used to playing the same type of defense the Warriors’ play… in time?
Apr.25 at 3:00 pm
DubsGonDoIt says:
Thanks Ben! This was a good read, a little late, but still appreciated. Hey maybe we can get a recap you know say uh tomorrow for game 2?? =) Though I am expecting the Mavs to win tonight.
Apr.25 at 3:00 pm
ALX8725 says:
btw, Al is more of a 3. He plays the small foward game naturally, and he doesnt really have that many, if any, go-to post moves. So opposing centers are matched up with an athletic small foward than can shoot 3’s. Al > Damp/Diop
Apr.25 at 3:01 pm
ALX8725 says:
sorry for misspelling “forward” twice
Apr.25 at 3:01 pm
DubsGonDoIt says:
I see Avery going big tonight .. no way will he start the same lineup trying to match the Dubs small ball lineup. I think that the Mavs will dominate the glass & that will be their key to victory. Then Friday night, game 3 will be amazing how much energy the bay gives the Warriors. The Warriors are going to win games 3 & 4!
Apr.25 at 3:03 pm
DubsGonDoIt says:
Knew what you mean ALX & yea Al is a 3, but in Nelsons system throw out the 1,2,3,4,5 haha cuz really they mean nothing. I think that Diop can do a lot of damage on the inside against Al, but usually Nelson tries to play the bigger Biedrins against Diop/Dampier.
Apr.25 at 3:07 pm
ALX8725 says:
many people don’t realize that when “dallas went on their run with Diop in the game to take the lead and keep it (thus proving all the “experts” right about how dallas should not have changed their lineup)”… Al was on the bench for all of this, getting rest.
Apr.25 at 3:09 pm
ALX8725 says:
as soon as Al came back in, Avery had to eventually abandon his use of big men. sorry for making so many posts, i thought this would be more reader friendly than one huge post that would be harder to read.
Apr.25 at 3:10 pm
DubsGonDoIt says:
Yea, I agree. I was even thinking during the game that the Mavs were playing better w/ Dirk on the bench & Diop in. I think if they have Al in against Diop, he’s going to get into foul trouble & take him out of the game. I’d play Biedris just so we match up somewhat with Dallas’ big men. Al would get his on O against Diop/Dampier, but on D they’d be in trouble.
Apr.25 at 3:52 pm
kris humphries says:
not only is al harrington smarter than you..but SO IS KRIS HUMPRIES…told you that mopete just needed some love for the raps to get that dub
Apr.25 at 4:00 pm
Bryant Reeves says:
The real Kris Humphries is probably smart enough to spell his name correctly
Apr.25 at 4:03 pm
DubsGonDoIt says:
Carlisle getting canned today is great. I guess Bird & Walsh couldn’t fire themselves! Indy is fu@ked!
Apr.25 at 4:08 pm
Ben Collins says:
Uh, Bryant, I wouldn’t be so sure about that.
Apr.25 at 4:10 pm
Bryant Reeves says:
Ben - I said probably…
Apr.25 at 4:12 pm
H to the izzo says:
If either of you are the real Bryant Reeves or Kris Humphries-thats awesome doubtful but awesome
Apr.25 at 4:14 pm
Ben Collins says:
Oh, and whoever suggested game notes or a recap, I’m on it. I’m a veritable Burger King here. I taped Sunday’s game, though, because I was at the Red Sox/Daisuke/FOURHOMERUNSINAROW-Yankees game. I’m basically posting this to show how straight my priorities are. My priorities are the anti-Amaechi.
Apr.25 at 4:18 pm
Great 1 says:
I agree that Golden State may win it in four. Dallas has a tough time playing the Warriors and with a lose tonight, they would put themselves in a hole a mile deep. I say tonight’s game is a must win for Dallas or else its bye-bye nba championship and those 60 plus wins won’t mean anything. You LOST to the underdogs.
Apr.25 at 4:26 pm
H to the izzo says:
Does anybody wanna try and explain baseball to me-I need to be interested in something after the the playoffs and after the soccer is over.Its either baseball or Nascar its up to you people
Apr.25 at 4:29 pm
Ben Collins says:
Oh please jesus HOVA, if it’s up to baseball or NASCAR, I’ll email you a 20 page thesis about baseball. For the purity of our future sportswriting youth, stay the hell away from NASCAR. I beg.
Apr.25 at 5:01 pm
ace side says:
This team sucks and should burn in the fires of the teams that are knocked out of the playoffs
Apr.25 at 5:38 pm
DubsGonDoIt says:
ace side, the Warriors been there and done that for 13 straight years. It’s time to shine!
Apr.25 at 5:50 pm
Styliztik Jones says:
Does this mean the Mavs will actually play Warriors ball with the small lineup? I actually thought Game 2 was going to be slow like Game 1.
Apr.25 at 6:00 pm
tito puente says:
people are missing something, the Mavs are fundamentally flawed against the W’s..the Warriors didn’t play well on Sunday…Baron played great, but Matt Barnes is the only other Warrior to play even above average offensively (Jax played OK)…the Warriors played great defensively but this was a below average game for the warriors on offense…Avery Johnson made some huge mistakes that will haunt them throughout this series…he let his team know days in advance Devean George was starting, telling his entire team that they can’t be effective playing their normal brand of basketball, against an 8 seed, that sends a bad signal to your team before the ball is even tipped…benching Dirk in the 2nd half, this is something you do to young players, head cases etc…you don’t do this to your supposed MVP with the fragile ego…Championship teams, and players, have an arrogance about them and exude confidence regardless of the opponent or situation…I repeat Mavs fans, the warriors played their B game offensively, and I know the Mavs will play better tonight, but so will the Warriors…..the Mavs keep telling themselves all we have to do is play better and ignore these facts: the warriors switch everything on D because they’re all the same size, and this really hurts the Mavs biggest staple on offense, pick and roll with Dirk in a mismatch…Devean Harris and J Terry are used to breaking down the opponents guards at will but Monta and Baron do a great job of staying in front…these are the two main ways Dallas gets open shots and neither one is overly effective against the W’s……Dirk should play like he did a couple of years ago, live in the hi post and simply shoot over our smaller defenders, for 2’s and 3’s…Dirk has become a better player because he doesn’t live outside anymore but I think that’s his best opportunity for success here is to use his size and shoot over the top…if that doesn’t happen i think the W’s will win the series…God help the Mavs if they go big, cuz Al Harrington will crush their 5’s on the perimeter….the Mavs are a GOOD team composed of a bunch of fantastic role players, 1 great all around player(Josh Howard), and the softest MVP in years…they’ve simply run into the worst matchup they could’ve asked for in the first round…
Apr.25 at 6:06 pm
J-Bird says:
Couldnt’ve said it better myself tito
Apr.25 at 6:21 pm
Hersey says:
This series and the Nuggets/Spurs is like dessert after watching my Suns. It’s just great basketball because of the matchups and coaching.
Apr.25 at 6:35 pm
JJ says:
Tito brings the funk.
Apr.25 at 7:28 pm
Dennard C says:
Tito, you broke that down quite succinctly. You need to be on TV instead of Tim Legler.
Apr.25 at 7:44 pm
Slobodan Chutzpah says:
You have to love Nellie, though. Now he’s cutting loose in the press, saying stuff like “We have less chance of winning the next game than getting hit by lightning” and “The Mavs will crush us”. Although everyone knows he’s just being Nellie, it must mess with opposing players’ heads, especially after the first game. I think Dirk, for one, might be genuinely scared of him.
Apr.25 at 8:20 pm
matt the jazz fan says:
wrong page but the rockets are getting too many calls versus the jazz.
Apr.25 at 8:32 pm
albie1kenobi says:
i like how nellie always have a bud light in his hand. why hasn’t bud light hired him as a spokesperson is beyond me. well, i guess free advertisement is always better.
Apr.25 at 9:04 pm
ALX8725 says:
Nellie knows that after a hard night’s worth of coaching, it is best to kick back with a nice cold beer. Amen Nellie, Amen.
Apr.26 at 1:35 am
1hush D says:
At least Al didn’t get t’d up in the game. Emotions! I cannot wait for Friday nights game…..I’ll be in Oakland and at the first playoff game in 12 years.
Apr.26 at 4:18 am
Dave says:
Yeah, and he scores like seven points in game 2.
You can’t expect to beat a higer seed just because you’ve won the last ten games of the regular season. The playoffs are just different.
The warriors are still learning.
Apr.26 at 5:44 am
T Money says:
I wonder how you guys at SLAM feel now about leaving Baron Davis off your 50 Best players list…
Apr.26 at 6:08 am
James says:
How do you feel T Money after his terrible performance in Game 2?
Apr.26 at 10:00 am
Ryan Jones says:
Re: summer — Izzo, go read books or do some charity work or something. The weather’s nice and there are no sports worth your attention between now and the fall.
Apr.26 at 10:48 am
Sesa says:
Whoo! is on the playoff. I just wanna say that. Lol
Apr.26 at 11:03 am
rick says:
DubsGonDoIt says:
Carlisle getting canned today is great. I guess Bird & Walsh couldn’t fire themselves. Indy is fu@cked!
NO, it’s your Warriors that are fu@ked for taking JAX off my Pacers in the trade(THANK YOU SO MUCH!!) Last night everyone could see why the trade benefitted the Pacers the most
because we got rid of that jerk. Jackson is the biggest sore loser/bad sport I’ve ever seen in all of sports history. Bird’s job #1 was getting rid of that idiot. And actually Harrington is vastly over-rated and had a bad attitude in Indy as well. And Sarunas isn’t good either so WE made “the steal”. You’ll see. Mike and Troy are great shooters when a coach will run plays to set screens for them, which Rick Carlisle didn’t do enough(he wouldn’t even
set screens for Reggie Miller, for crissake!)
And Ike Diogu has great potential esp. playing alongside Jermaine O’Neal. So all we need is a good agressive coach now, like free agent Sam Mitchell, and we’re looking good. Meanwhile, you guys are stuck with that thug JAX. THANX!!
Apr.26 at 11:59 am
DubsGonDoIt says:
Damn, speaking of sore losers “Rick” you sure seem like one. I loved your Pacers record after the trade, you guys did great. Keep thinking you got the better part of the trade. Hey maybe next year you guys will trade us JO for Foyle =). I’m sure in your logic getting a great person in Foyle is what basketball is all about. Murphleavy have no intensity on the court, S-Jax & Harrington do. I’m so happy Indy fans think that they made a great trade because I can deal with Jackson getting ejected last night. As I’ve said before GSW would not even be in the playoffs if we wouldn’t have made that trade. From the bottom of my heart.. THANK YOU INDY, THANK YOU!
Apr.26 at 12:50 pm
H to the izzo says:
Ryan:Due to the time difference here I would be watching these sports at about 1 a.m anyway because I’m not a big fan of sleep.And I will actually have to do charity work during the summer-but thats a different story.
Ben:I expect that Thesis soon or else I swear to God I’ll clog this comments section with NASCAR references.
Apr.26 at 1:00 pm
rick says:
Oh, you like JAX do you? Good, I’m so glad you’re happy ’cause we are VERY happy to be rid of that headcase, who hurts his team every chance he gets. INTENSITY???? Is that what you call it? I’ve seen JAX B.S. for several years now–he’s a fu@king madman!!!! Let’s see how you feel when he has to serve a suspension or JAILTIME. Being athletic is nice but playing UNDER CONTROL is more important in a TEAM sport. You haven’t watched every Pacers game the last four years so you can’t understand the logic that it WAS a good trade, just to unload that Jack-ass. A trade isn’t judged by one team just making the play-offs in the same season. It wasn’t the trade that got you the 8th spot anyway, it was the Clippers disintegration. The Warriors are going down first round in 5 or 6 games. You’ll be lucky to maybe get the 8th spot next year at all. Carlisle has been the Pacers problem, not the guys we got in the trade. They were, as new players, trying to fit in and can only run the plays that the coach calls out. Carlisle was not aggressive enough and his coaching was too predictable. As I said, Mike and Troy are great shooters when someone sets a pick, which a good coach would exploit. With a coach like Sam Mitchell we could be an entirely different team. J.O for Foyle?– in your dreams, perennial losers Golden State!! How much in the last 12-13 years or so have you made the conference finals or the NBA finals? You guys really talk big to have just made the play-offs in the 8th spot for the first time in, what, like 13 years or something? Pathetic…
Apr.26 at 1:35 pm
DubsGonDoIt says:
Rick, I’ve already said I’m happy with S-Jax & if you are happy to be rid of him & Al & take on Murphleavy then thank you very much. So ‘m trying to go back and forth. You believe Indy made a great trade, I believe GSW did. Obviously, I feel that with the S-Jax you get good & bad. I’ll take that over just the bad that the Warriors have been over the last 13 years. You watch the first game this year between Indy & GSW? Who hit the game winner for Indy? S-Jax. The second game of the year after the trade, Indy got ran! I’ve watched Murphleavy play for so many years in the bay & I know what you guys got in them. You got guys who are over-rated on the basketball court (soft, emotionless, can’t creat their own offense, liabilities on defense), but on the positive side they won’t bust caps outside of clubs or try and fight fans. I can see why Indy made the trade, but still as a basketball team they aren’t any better after the trade. THEY ARE WORSE! The Warriors are extremely better on both offense & defense. The Warriors post trade were better, their record shows that. The Pacers post trade went from the #4 seed in the East to not even in the playoffs. I love S-Jax on the Warriors & it seems like you are loving having the guys you got in the trade from GSW. We’ll just have to see how it all plays out.
Apr.26 at 3:29 pm
ALX8725 says:
I’m a Warriors fan, and when Dunleavy was a Warrior… my god. I kept my mouth shut because I root for the team first, players second. But as soon as I found out he was traded, I seriously thanked the basketball gods. You might think now he’s high on his bball IQ etc etc… just you wait and see. honestly, just wait and see. Btw, did Indy really get the better part of the trade? Not making the playoffs for the first time in hella days and then firing an young/mastermind coach? I would really like to talk to you in 2-3 years Rick after you get to watch Dunleavy stink up Indy for awhile, I want to know what you’ll think of the trade then.
Apr.26 at 11:19 pm
tito puente says:
let me try and settle this…Murph and Dunleavy more closely resemble their fans demographic and are happier there…Jax and Al more closely represent the grit and intensityy that exist in Oakland…Warriors fans were starving for some intensity and excitement, and they have helped provide that in spades…I believe the pacer fans was trying to imply that we’ve made a deal with the devil that will backfire in the long run…well, speaking for a team that hasn’t been in the playoffs in 13 years, it’s already worth it on our end…if it’s worth it for you to reduce your roster’s talent a little bit to stay off the police blotter then everybody should be happy…I do believe that Jax has a better chance to succeed in Oakland because when he looks out of his Benz on the way to the Arena he sees a community he can relate to, that embraces him for who he is and that isn’t trying to change him fundamentally but just nudge him in the right direction…I also believe that Dunleavy had zero chance of success here because he was the no. 3 pick in the draft and didn’t show the type of visible intensity that people in Oakland demand ,he will be more comfortable in Indy as a complimentary player…we now have Indy’s problem with Randy Moss, some times teams have to get rid of players just to change the culture…
Apr.27 at 10:35 am
DubsGonDoIt says:
Hey Ben, not trying to be a bug, but can we get a recap before the series is over?
Also, thanks tito for putting in your 2 cents on the whole Indy/GSW trade.
Apr.27 at 10:46 am
StephenJacksonLovesOakland says:
Tito, that’s real talk!
Apr.27 at 11:53 am
H to the izzo says:
So…..how about that Tony Stewart eh (Nascar reference N0.1)Ben do you want me to go on?