If there’s somebody who fully understands Alaska Aces head coach Alex Compton’s dissatisfaction with the way his wards have been playing lately, it is his own import Mike Harris.
Compton expressed his disappointment towards his Milkmen even though they returned to the win column on Wednesday with a 104-94 victory over the Columbian Dyip, saying that his team isn’t playing the way they’re supposed to.
The veteran mentor’s sentiments stem from the Aces’ fourth quarter performance, where they allowed the opposition within striking distance after being up by as many as 20 points in the third chapter.
“It’s not disrespecting them but we’re trying to be a top team, and we’re trying to compete for a championship… So to play down to that level when we know we should’ve been up a lot more, that was the problem,” said Harris.
“At one point we got the lead up to twenty, and then we turned around and gave them fastbreak and transition points. So it was a lot of defensive miscues. We’re fortunate to get the win, but defensively, we made a lot of mental mistakes.
“I completely understand and agree with him in it,” he added.
The 35-year-old American – who had a career-high 44 points and 27 rebounds in the bounce-back victory – understands, too, why the Aces played lax in the fourth and opened the door for the Dyip a bit.
“It happens everywhere. Not just us. It happens in the NBA,” said Harris, who had stints with the Houston Rockets and the Washington Wizards.
“Top teams play bottom teams and you play down and instead playing to that level [sic].”
But as much as he understands, Harris hopes that the same problem won’t show up in the next game when they face the fiery Blackwater Elite (6-2) this Sunday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
“Now we’re about to play Blackwater, who’s a top team. And so we can’t have this carry over from what we just did tonight. We’d get and end up getting blown out against them,” the 13-year journeyman warned.
