Could Tim Hardaway Jr. fill 3rd-scorer role for Dallas Mavericks?

The Dallas Mavericks paired young European sensations Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis in the off season. Could Tim Hardaway Jr. be the next link in the chain?

The Dallas Mavericks have a nice nucleus of young stars. Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis are at the upper echelon of NBA talent and are only 20 and 24 respectively. The average age of the team is 25.7 years of age. If you remove veterans Courtney Lee, who is 35, and J.J. Barea, who is 34, it goes down to 25.5.

However, there is a question mark over the Mavericks this season. They are good; we know that, currently fourth in the tough Western Conference with a 15-6 record. However, there is a question mark as to how far this team can go in the playoffs with only two stars. Is there an opportunity to look internally at Tim Hardaway Jr. as the third option?

To date, Hardaway’s career has been solid, but not spectacular. He has played 424 career games, starting only 187 of them. He has averaged 13.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 26.0 minutes per game. His shooting has not been special either, going at 41.8/34.4/81.5.

Since his trade from the New York Knicks, Hardaway has had mixed results. Last season he played in 19 games for the Mavericks, starting 17. His numbers were slightly better than career, averaging 15.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 29.4 minutes per game. His shooting was worse at 40.4/32.1/76.7.

This season Hardaway played off the bench for the first 13 games, averaging 10.2 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists. His shooting suffered, as he was at 34.4/29.5/73.1. Then he was inserted into the starting lineup and his numbers have climbed to a level of potentially being the third scorer for the Mavs.

In eight games, Hardaway has  averaged 16.0 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists. This uptick in points is good, but where the impressiveness of it lies is in his efficiency. His slash line is 51.2/44.2/90.5, which is easily the best of his career.

Hardaway is very comfortable playing off ball. With the attention that Doncic commands from opposition defenses, Hardaway  is often open, hence the incredible shooting numbers. If he is able to keep shooting the way he is, Hardaway could join some incredible company.

There are a couple of slight problems with Hardaway being the Mavericks third option though. Firstly, there is the question of how he shoots when faced with elite defenses. Since starting Hardaway has faced some lower ranked teams.

He had 20 points against the Golden State Warriors, 16 against the Cleveland Cavaliers and 26 against the depleted Phoenix Suns. His season-high of 31 points came against the Houston Rockets, not known as a top defensive team.

At the other end of the spectrum, he had eight points against both the Los Angeles Lakers and the LA Clippers and seven against the Minnesota Timberwolves. He went 2-of-16 from deep in these three games. Given the Lakers and Clippers are above the Mavericks in the standings, it is safe to say that in order to get out of the West, any team will have to beat at least one L.A. franchise.

This brings up the second issue, Hardaway’s lack of consistency. Since starting this season, he has three games with at least 20 points. He also has three games of eight points or fewer. To be a threat as the third scoring option, you cannot have as many bad games as good.

When April comes around, teams play higher-intensity defense; which amounts to fewer open looks. Can Hardaway be consistent enough to help the Mavericks win their way out of the West? The answer, at this stage, is no. He has yet to prove himself against the top-ranked teams.

This may change as the season progresses but if the Dallas Mavericks want to more than just make the playoffs, they need to look externally.