Gary Harris is getting closer and closer to returning to the starting lineup for the Denver Nuggets.
The Denver Nuggets have been extremely short handed for a long time now. This is not exactly news to any avid Nuggets fans, but thankfully, help is on the way very soon. Help in the form of Gary Harris to be exact.
The Nuggets lost Harris a few weeks ago after a big one point win over the Portland Trail Blazers. News came out the next day that he had suffered a hip injury. Then, it was reported he was going to miss three to four weeks.
As a result, this dealt a major blow to the Nuggets’ back court in both their offensive and defensive production.
Denver Nuggets
So, with this in mind, what will be the impact of Harris’ return? Let’s take a look at his numbers on the year.
So far this season, Harris is averaging 16.6 points per game on an effective field goal percentage of 49.8% Not to mention, Gary is also averaging 1.2 steals per game coupled with a steal percentage of 1.8%.
Harris’ advanced stats are nothing to scoff at either. Harris is averaging an assist percentage of 13.2% which is his second highest total in this category throughout his career (highest was 13.6% in the 2017-17 season.)
He also is averaging a career high block percentage of 1.2% which is a major jump from last season which was 0.5%. This is a welcome sign as it shows Gary is evolving on the defensive end of the floor despite the fact he has established himself as a defensive ace.
In terms of defense, Harris has only allowed one player he has guarded to score 10 points this year (CJ McCollum.) Everyone else has scored less when matched up with Harris this year.
With all of this in mind, Gary Harris is going to give the Nuggets a major boost on the defensive end of the floor when he returns.
A scary thought considering the Nuggets are currently ranked sixth in defensive rating.