“Those MFFL Fans, That’s Real.” Tim Hardaway Jr., Dallas Mavericks proving perfect fit

2019-20: Coming off the bench

Once the regular season tipped off, Hardaway’s numbers immediately backtracked. On opening night against the Wizards, his shooting splits reverted to even worse than what they were with the Knicks. Through the first thirteen games of the season as a reserve, Hardaway averaged 10.2 points per game on .344/.295/.731 shooting splits, which is… less than desirable. Despite these shooting woes, the Dallas Mavericks still got off to a strong start and opened with an 8-5 record.

Hardaway trudged on, trying to maintain a positive outlook as his team surpassed early expectations. Dallas was well on its way to a good grade on the science project, but Hardaway didn’t feel like he was adding much to the experiment. “I know it’s a learning experience each step of the way, we’re still a young team. Each and every day, we’re just going to continue to get better,” he shared.

As Luka Dončić blossomed with every triple-double, the Mavericks’ win column embraced the winds of change. Each game, it became more and more apparent that the offense possessed a unique potency. Behind the brilliance of Dončić and a fresh-out-of-the-box Porziņģis, Dallas was outscoring opponents by an average of almost four points per contest. The Dallas Mavericks offensive versatility overwhelmed the opposition, and their 114.2 offensive rating (ORtg) through those first thirteen games was on pace to be one of the 25 best in NBA history.

One glance at the traditional and advanced stats, and it seemed clear that Dallas was hitting on all cylinders. Indeed, most analysts opted for a quick peek at the numbers and came to a similar conclusion that it couldn’t get much better than that. Rick Carlisle chose to delve deeper and saw (or didn’t) what others couldn’t: that there was another, even higher altitude that the Dallas Mavericks could ascend to.