In Sunday’s homage to Doug Moe, the Nuggets won 1980s style — 138-133 — and everyone was making shots for Denver: J.R. Smith, Chauncey Billups, Nene, the usher in section 112, Ty Lawson, Arron Afflalo, the beer guy, Shelden Williams, Gary Forbes . . . everyone, it seemed, except Al Harrington.
The big fellow is struggling a little. The 6-foot-9 power forward is averaging 13.1 points per game, but he shot just 2-for-7 from the field against Phoenix. And in two of the previous three games, he had nights of 2-for-6 and 1-for-7. But he also had a 7-for-13, 19-point performance Nov. 22 at Golden State, where he was booed by his old fans.
Harrington finds motivation against spurned old squads. He scored 22 points in a Nov. 16 win against the Knicks.
“He’s a game-changer for sure,” Billups said. “He comes to play, and he’s come to play really hard against the teams he’s played for. He wants to beat them really badly. We’ve got to get him doing the same thing against everybody else.
“Sometimes you don’t get the same amount of shots. Sometimes, other guys are rolling. Against Phoenix, J.R. was rolling, I was playing well, Nene too. He’s not going to be that guy that we just say, ‘I don’t care what’s going on, throw it to Al.’ Some nights his opportunities are a little different.”
Harrington has won Denver a couple of games and he will likely keep on shooting because that’s what he does. But missing more than he makes could affect the offensive flow. And in two of the previous five games, he had a five-turnover night and a six-turnover night.
“Al’s been around. Al’s going to spend time on his craft. He’ll come in and spend time on his shot,” Denver assistant coach Melvin Hunt said. “The toughest thing for him is, he’s trying really hard. It’s going unnoticed, but he’s doing good things for us.
“But everybody takes pride in their shots. He really wants to make plays, but he’s making some turnovers. For Al, the big thing is to relax.”
Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com
