Tim hardaway jr teams12/7/2023 Whatever it is, it’s obvious that it’s working for the Mavericks. The improvement is just so drastic for a player in his seventh season, it almost feels like there has to be more. Who knows, maybe Rick Carlisle has the Midas touch? Even when you combine all these factors, it’s hard to say that they’re all the sole reason contributing to Hardaway’s success. He goes the extra mile- Chuck Cooperstein December 21, 2019 Very few HCs spend that time leaving it to development coaches. Hardaway spoke afterward about how Carlisle worked with him individually on his shot to make some small correction that obviously worked. The other curious area of this radical improvement is this tidbit that was dropped back in December: So it’s clear that Doncic is creating great looks for Hardaway in a starting lineup that typically features a 7’3 center in Kristaps Porzingis that draws a lot of attention. He gets about two of his seven three attempts per game from Doncic, by far the most of any Maverick. On passes from Doncic, Hardaway is hitting 45 percent of his three pointers. Still, the Luka touch has to be talked about, because the numbers are eye-popping. He also played with Luka some last season! Granted, he wasn’t healthy. All of that makes a lot of sense and is likely true, although Hardaway has been in a good system before in Atlanta and didn’t see anything close to these results. Conventional wisdom says that Hardaway got healthy last summer (he underwent surgery as soon as last season ended for a stress fracture in his lower leg), he got used to the Mavericks system with a full off-season of training and has been blessed by the touch of Luka Doncic. There are now two questions about Hardaway: How is he doing it and what happens next? For the how, this part is a little hard to parse. Whoops! Guess the Mavericks have an elite shooter now. At the time, Hardaway was “only” at 38 percent. ![]() I wrote earlier this season how the Mavericks are math-ing teams to death, launching lots of quality threes and outscoring teams despite hitting them at an average clip and without an elite shooter. Dallas desperately needed a shooter last summer and they got one! It was just one the Mavericks apparently already had. ![]() Yet here we are and Hardaway has been putting up even better numbers than any theoretical off-season signing would have done. If you told me in August that Hardaway would be a better shooter than Danny Green, I would have slapped you. In the 42 games Hardaway has played as a starter, which he never went back to the bench after that Warriors game, he’s shooting 43.7 percent from three on over seven attempts per game. He shot 6-of-7 from the floor, he hit all four of his three pointers, he scored 20 points and the Mavericks won by a zillion points. Of all the remarkable things about Hardaway’s season, this might be the most outrageous part - the very next game, two nights later against the Warriors, Hardaway went into the starting lineup for an ill Seth Curry. At that point it wouldn’t have been outlandish to think Hardaway’s season was lost and most Mavericks fans would continue counting down until his contract expired in a few seasons. The nadir was the 13th game of that stretch, a 15-minute scoreless output against the Spurs where Hardaway missed all five of his shots and was benched in the second half. He shot 29.5 percent from three in this season’s first 13 games and 34.4 percent from the floor overall. Hell, think about this: last season, playing with Luka Doncic after being traded to Dallas, Hardaway only hit about 33 percent of his catch and shoot threes. It’s hard to put into words how remarkable this turnaround is. The season in Atlanta, which was easily his best season as a pro before coming to Dallas? 36.1 percent. Hardaway is currently hitting 44 percent of his catch and shoot three pointers. In fact, he’s only been at 35 percent or better from three just twice before this season - his rookie season and the 2016-2017 season in Atlanta. Hardaway’s previous career-high from three was 36.3 percent back in 2014, his rookie season. ![]() Hardaway is one of those 11, which, again, is crazy. There are only 11 players in the NBA who have played in at least 35 games, take at least six threes per game and hit at least 40 percent or better from three. If this is a hot streak, it’s a helluva run.įor the season, Hardaway is now shooting almost 41 percent from three (40.8 to be exact). Over the last few months his season has gone from “oh wow, this is neat” to “is Hardaway the second most important player on the team?” The Mavericks keep winning games and Hardaway keeps making threes at a bonkers rate relative to the rest of his career. The fact that the statement above isn’t wild hyperbole goes to show just how incredible Hardaway’s season has been. The Mavericks might be doomed without him.
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