Gary Harris has emerged as a quality rotation piece in Doc Rivers' lineups. Around 20 minutes of physical defense and efficient perimeter shooting? That's more than most Bucks fans expected.
Signing Gary Harris this summer seemed like an odd move at the time. Later, as the Milwaukee Bucks faced a roster crunch, it made even less sense. Many fans were justifiably perplexed that the team spent a spot on an aging player coming off his worst season since his rookie year. Yet, he's showing exactly why the team signed him.
Harris has done what's asked as emergency stopgap
The Bucks only recently began deploying him as a regular rotation member. Beginning with the overtime win against Charlotte, he has eclipsed 20 minutes in three of the last four games. Harris isn't going to hoist up many shots - the Bucks don't want him to - but he's cashing in his open looks. From beyond the arc, he is 5-for-10 in that span, averaging 5.3 points per game. He's come up with a couple of blocks and three steals. It's not going to be flashy, but Harris is giving them good minutes.
That's something that guys like Amir Coffey and Andre Jackson Jr. have not. Coffey has gone totally AWOL since arriving in Milwaukee. For now, that experiment has been shelved.
Rivers clearly does not trust Jackson enough to grant him meaningful minutes. Instead, he's gone with the graying veteran in Harris.
The first 12 games did nothing but vindicate puzzlement over the offseason addition of a then 30-year-old guard who fell out of Orlando's rotation in 2024. For the Bucks, Harris logged seven DNPs and only touched the floor during garbage time.
But with Taurean Prince out indefinitely and Coffey plus Jackson reduced to non-factors, Harris has stepped up admirably. The way Gary Trent Jr. has struggled, using someone else to eat up a few extra wing minutes carries value. Although it's a small sample, Harris has been surprisingly serviceable.
Since then, he's won back some favor. Trent's unforeseen woes and Prince's injury had the Bucks scrambling for answers. Harris answered the bell as a source of help no one anticipated. More than ever, with Giannis out, this team just needs capable bodies on the floor.
It's not like Harris is some lifeboat or cheat code to solve all their issues. He may not even be a long-term solution in a limited role. For now, however, Harris is giving the Bucks more than Coffey, Jackson, or any other backend option has been able to. As long as that continues, consider it a win.