The Denver Nuggets are officially in rebuild mode and feature a host of young players, with Gary Harris being at the center of it.
Harris, who is in his fourth year in the NBA, has played quite well this year. He is averaging a career high in points (16.9) and is basically shooting 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from the 3-point line.
No one will say that Harris is the team's best player — that honor usually goes to center Nikola Jokic — but at least Nuggets head coach Mike Malone is giving him a ringing endorsement so far this season, per T.J. McBride of Mile High Sports.
Malone on Gary Harris: "you can make an argument he's been our MVP so far this year."
— T.J. McBride (@TJMcBrideNBA) January 13, 2018
MVP might sound a bit strong in the case of Harris, but with the way he's been shooting, its not that much of a surprise that Malone is praising Harris in this way. Harris is a young player who is coming into his own in the NBA, and has shown this season that he can be a reliable scorer for the Nuggets.
Harris has recorded several games in which he has scored at least 20 points, and even has a 36-point game under this belt. In terms of scoring the ball, Harris has clearly made a leap.
All that to say that Malone may have a point. Aside from the offensive side of the ball, Harris is also doing good work on defense. He is averaging 1.9 steals a game, which is a career high.
Harris won't sniff a league MVP nod this season, and quite possibly never well. But for the Nuggets, he has proved invaluable.
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