Near world's media capital, Nets' Harris somehow best-kept secret in NBA

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Kobe & Shaq went toe-to-toe in Phoenix, and an overhyped backup point guard named Stephon Marbury was held scoreless as the Celtics lost to the Pistons up in Boston. However those games turned out -- or just about any other game on the NBA schedule, for that matter -- Devin Harris had no shot.

Devin Harris is averaging 22.3 points per game this season. (Getty Images)

Even if Kobe Bryant hadn't dropped 49 to Shaquille O'Neal's 33 in the Suns' 118-111 victory against the Lakers, there was no way for Harris to step out of his lonely corner of the basketball consciousness. Think about it: What exactly could Harris have done for an encore Sunday to have the eyes of the NBA on him? I suppose he could've been bought out and signed by the Celtics, but even then the story would've been about Marbury.

With a sensational, improbable, buzzer-beating, game-winning, half-court shot against the 76ers last Monday, followed by a 42-point performance that carried the Nets past the Bulls, the question Sunday was, "What would Devin Harris do next?" At least that was my question. Talk about Shaq & Kobe all you want; my eyes were on the NBA's Must-See PG. The problem is, hardly anyone sees him or hears about him -- even in New Jersey.

In the Western Conference, Chris Paul sees Deron Williams, Tony Parker, Steve Nash and Jason Kidd on a regular basis. He knows greatness when he sees it, particularly because he must own at least one mirror. Soon after being run ragged by someone who belongs on that list, Paul said of Harris, "He's a great player and one of the toughest guards to deal with, with the freedom that he has."

It's funny that Paul would use the word "freedom" to describe Harris, who is trapped in New Jersey and relegated to surprising anonymity considering the world's media capital is only a few miles away. New York has always been good at overhyping athletes, and in that regard, what Harris has accomplished here is truly amazing. New York has underhyped him. And that's putting it kindly. Really, New York has ignored him.

Harris' arrival on the national stage came with his selection as an All-Star reserve by the league's coaches. They know how good he is; they have to craft their entire defensive game plan around him every night. Fans aren't sure yet, as evidenced by Harris' paltry 1.2 million All-Star votes -- about 140,000 more than Milwaukee's Luke Ridnour. I'd be curious to know how many of those votes came from Harris' own market, where his lack of exposure stands in stark contrast to his merits. Only two of New York City's four major newspapers still cover the Nets. (The biggest one, the New York Times, isn't one of them.) The Jersey papers still do, but only because they have to -- sort of like city council meetings.

Devin Harris is a lot more exciting than a city council meeting. Trust me.

All he did in Act III of this incredible week Sunday was outplay the best point guard in the NBA for 47 minutes. As Harris well knows from his buzzer-beating 45-footer against Philadelphia -- accomplished off an inbounds play at the opposite end with 1.8 seconds left -- there are 48 minutes in a basketball game. The Hornets won 99-96 because the final minute belonged to Paul.

The Nets were leading 94-93 when Harris committed his sixth turnover with a minute left. Paul came up with the ball and hit a 19-footer over Vince Carter for a 95-94 New Orleans lead with 40.5 seconds left. And CP3 hadn't even done his best work yet.

Out of a timeout, everything was set up for another dose of Harris heroics. But as Brook Lopez took the inbounds pass at the top of the circle and tried to hand off to Harris, Paul was there. "It's an inbounds play we run, too," Paul said. "If Devin's under the goal, he's obviously going to come up to the top to get the ball. ... I reached my hand in there and just tried to smack it away."

That he did, stumbling off-balance and somehow chasing it down to complete the steal with just less than 37 seconds left. Paul missed what would've been a dagger 3-pointer, but Tyson Chandler -- traded, untraded, but still valuable when the ball comes off the rim -- grabbed the offensive rebound to keep the possession alive for Rasual Butler, who got fouled and made both free throws for a 97-94 lead with 9.6 seconds left.

That's 7.8 more seconds than Harris needed Monday night against Philadelphia, so the Hornets still couldn't relax.

Harris had two more chances. First, he lost the handle on a pass from Carter and threw an off-balance prayer off the top of the backboard as he lunged to save the ball from going out of bounds. On the final play of the game, Harris launched an errant 25-footer off a catch-and-shoot out of a timeout with 0.8 seconds left. Maybe he needed another second.

Harris finished with 26 points and 14 assists, compared to 14 points and nine assists for Paul.

You haven't heard the last from Harris, whose ability to carry his team has the Nets looking like the favorite to emerge from a crowded field of mediocrity to become the eighth entrant into the Eastern Conference playoffs. Of the other teams in the logjam -- Milwaukee, Chicago, Indiana, Charlotte, the Knicks and Toronto -- only the Pacers (Danny Granger) and Raptors (Chris Bosh) have a player capable of carrying them the way Harris has carried the Nets lately.

"He's definitely served notice this season that he's a point guard that you've got to deal with on a night-to-night basis," said Hornets coach Byron Scott, who coached Kidd in New Jersey before getting Paul in New Orleans. "I still think right now he's probably more of a scoring point guard first, whereas Chris is a little bit more of an all-around point guard and a true point guard because he thinks pass first."

If Harris ever gets anyone to pass to besides Carter, he'll be scary. If he ever gets out of New Jersey, he might actually get some credit for it.