Montrezl Harrell’s ‘motor’, as explained by those who know him best

BROOKLYN — Montrezl Harrell is on an island. There are six and a half minutes remaining in the fourth quarter of a Nov. 17 matchup between the Clippers and Nets, and Harrell is guarding the ever-so crafty D’Angelo Russell. Russell shakes him with a dribble step-back, then shifts the Clippers’ big man with a behind-the-back move. The crowd goes wild. Russell is on his way to the rim.

But Harrell never loses focus. He gets back into position and latches onto Russell’s hip, matching him stride for stride like a cornerback attached to a wide receiver. As Russell elevates, Harrell follows, reaching a high-arcing layup at its apex and packing it to the corner. It was a crucial play that helped punctuate Los Angeles’ 15-point comeback victory.

This is just one of innumerable examples of Harrell’s value to a Los Angeles Clippers team that’s simultaneously a game out of first place in the West while hoarding cap space for big free agents this summer. He’s a versatile defender, ferocious rebounder, a rim protector, and nasty finisher — the heartbeat of the team despite coming off the bench. Most importantly, he has a motor that just won’t quit.

“I’ve watched him 15 straight games give other guys at his position hell on both ends of the floor,” says Lou Williams, the reigning Sixth Man of the Year.

There is no one in the NBA quite like Montrezl Harrell. He is the only player in the league who averages at least 14 points, six rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game off the bench. If he keeps it up, he’ll be the only reserve with those numbers in NBA history.

On a superstar-less, but deep Clippers team, Harrell is a game-changer. He has a Player Efficiency Rating of 25.89, the ninth-best in the league. Stephen A. Smith called him “the closest thing to Dennis Rodman in today’s NBA.” Clippers head coach Doc Rivers, who played 60 games with Rodman in San Antonio, chuckles at the comparison. “They’re a little different,” he says.

But what Harrell and Rodman share are a limitless pool of energy and endurance. That energy never runs out, though it is maximized by coming off the bench.

“He could probably play 58 minutes,” Rivers says. “I don’t think endurance is ever gonna be a problem.”

But how does Harrell fuel an engine that has to keep running at the highest power possible every second he’s on the floor?

The simple answer: “I get paid to play the game of basketball,” he says. “This is my job.”

But there’s a more complicated answer, too.

Where does Harrell’s motor come from? The better question is, what the heck does it mean to have a motor, anyway?

For Harrell, it means doing all the little things: “Playing as hard as I can. Getting extra possessions on the offensive end of the floor,” he says. “Being everywhere on defense. On the floor, taking charges, blocking shots.”

Aaron Rountree, one of Harrell’s best friends who played on his AAU team growing up in Wilson, N.C., compares Harrell to Shrek, because he’s built up a tough exterior to the outside world.

“His motor comes from being from the trenches,” Rountree, who currently plays pro basketball in Qatar, says in a phone interview. “Where we’re from, there’s plenty of dudes that can hoop, but there’s no one that plays as hard as him. People love to talk like he’s just a brute and not that skilled, but playing that fucking hard consistently is a skill.”

Rivers has a similar sentiment.

“Energy’s a talent,” he says. “It’s not just an ‘I’m going to play with energy thing,’ because if it were true, everyone would do it.”

Chinanu Onuaku was on the wrong end of that talent as a freshman at Louisville. Onuaku, who now plays for the Charlotte Hornets’ G-League affiliate Greensboro Swarm team, was a freshman when Harrell was a junior on the Cardinals’ 2014-15 roster. Onuaku is as big as Harrell -- ESPN lists him at 6’10,” 245 pounds compared to Harrell at 6’8,” 240 pounds -- but that’s not how Onuaku remembers their first workout.

“He’s just trying to dunk on me, all the time,” Onuaku recalls. “And I was just always falling. Like what else am I supposed to do? You don’t just let somebody dunk on you, but there was nothing I could do. He was just different. He didn’t care that I was a little kid. He still went at me like I was one of the top players in the country.”

The way Harrell attacked Onuaku is the same way he attacks his workouts now. By the time he returns from a 23-minute pregame workout in Brooklyn -- practicing floaters and post moves from all around the court -- he’s dripping in sweat.

“I treat my my workouts just like I do a game,” he says. ”I get myself prepared for the types of things I’ll see in a game.”

This type of work is nothing new. On days the team practices, Harrell still goes through another session on his own. Diet plays a role, and the Clippers’ conditioning team measures body mass index and optimal playing weight.

“I watch what I eat, but I always get my workouts in, and I go 110 percent whenever I’m doing my workouts,” he says. “I’m doing my extra work after practice: ab workouts, sauna, bike workouts. I do so much to stay active and stay in the shape that I wanna be in. These are things that I know are going to help me in the long run.”

Now the Clippers vs. Nets game is over, and Harrell won’t stop putting on gold chains. There’s also a Nets jersey draped over his right shoulder, belonging to Kenneth Faried.

If there were any player whose game Harrell’s most resembles, it’s Faried’s. Harrell watched film of Faried while playing college ball at Louisville, and he sought out Faried postgame to exchange uniforms.

“He was a guy I’ve been compared to coming out of college for a long time now,” Harrell says. “I’ve seen a lot film on him in college and coming into the league. Coach [Rick Pitino] always compared me to his playing style.”

Faried had a fast start to his career and was rewarded with a four-year, $50 million contract by the Nuggets. Harrell is in the first season of a two-year, $12 million deal, so as long as he stays in shape, he will command a sizable pay raise when he becomes a free agent in 2021.

But Harrell should also be cautious about embracing Faried comparisons. As the NBA has moved further from the paint, many energy players have taken a backseat to the stretch four and the combo forward. Faried never was able to adjust, and has only appeared in six games for a grand total of 35 minutes with the Nets this season. He is behind veteran forward Jared Dudley on Brooklyn’s depth chart, and liked multiple Instagram comments suggesting he should be playing more.

Other players like Harrell have suffered similar downfalls. Trevor Booker played for the Pacers last season, but now is in China after suffering a foot injury. Thomas Robinson was drafted No. 5 overall in 2012 on the strength of his rugged play at Kansas, but now plays in Russia after a five-year career with six NBA teams.

In 2015, Harrell entered the league a power forward. That position barely exists anymore, so now he plays the majority of his minutes at center, where he’s undersized for the position at 6’8.”

Still, there’s room for Harrell to grow. He didn’t play much in his first two seasons with the Rockets before coming to L.A. in the Chris Paul trade. He’s also just 24 years young, giving him plenty of time to continue adapting to whatever changes come his way.

The NBA is trending further beyond the three-point line, and big men who can’t shoot from distance have become a pariah. Harrell is not a shooter by any stretch, at least not yet, but his talent is one that can’t be taught.

Harrell has a motor, one he fuels by running non-stop. He’s a player the likes of which the league rarely sees. The only question left: How can he continue to buck trends?