Tim Hardaway Jr. is the third-highest-paid player on the Mavericks behind Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. He averaged 14.4 points per game this season and finished ninth in Sixth Man of the Year voting.
So why is Hardaway barely playing during these NBA Playoffs?
Hardaway played just seven minutes and 42 seconds of the first half of Game 1 of the Finals, missing two shots before hitting the bench for the second half of that game, and he didn’t register a single minute in Game 2. That came on the heels of sitting out of the last three games of the Western Conference Finals.
Hardaway’s lack of minutes isn’t due to any sort of injury. Rather, it’s because he’s become increasingly ineffective as the season has worn on.
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Why isn’t Tim Hardaway Jr. playing for the Mavericks?
At his best, Hardaway has been a microwave scoring spot starter for the Mavericks. He was originally brought to the team as part of the Kristaps Porzingis trade because the Knicks didn’t want to pay him the nearly $40 million owed to him over the last two years of his deal. But he ended up playing so well post-trade that the Mavs inked him to an even bigger $75 million deal over four years.
That deal looked OK at first. Hardaway hit close to 40 percent of his 3s in his first two full years with the Mavs, finishing fifth in 2021 Sixth Man of the Year voting. But he’s been mired in a shooting slump that saw him hitting only 31.8 percent of his 3s after this year’s All-Star break.
Hardaway isn’t a great defender, and he doesn’t bring much else to the table from a rebounding or playmaking perspective. When he’s not hitting shots, he’s hurting the team.
Coach Jason Kidd had a long leash with Hardaway throughout the season despite his disappointing play. There were some bright spots, such as a 41-point performance in a win without Doncic on Jan. 15. He also had 17 points in a Game 2 win over the Thunder in the second round. But he’s hit double-digits in scoring in only three of his last 21 games dating back to the regular season.
Hardaway forced Kidd’s hand, falling behind Josh Green, Dante Exum and Jaden Hardy in the rotation.
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Will Tim Hardaway Jr. play in the Finals?
There’s still a chance that Hardaway could find some minutes. The Mavericks need some sort of scoring spark plug. Their shooting from deep has been atrocious throughout the Finals, leading to a paltry 93.5 points per game through their first two contests.
Hardaway could be thrown in there to see if he can knock down some open looks simply by process of elimination. Nobody else has been able to do it, so why not give him a try? The team outside of Doncic was a combined 5-of-32 from deep in the first two games.
Hardaway did shoot 40.4 percent from deep in his last playoff appearance three years ago. But he hasn’t looked like that same player, connecting on just 30.8 percent of his 3s during these playoffs.
If Hardaway does find some confidence in his stroke, then he could change the series. The Mavs could certainly use him.