Mavs Rookie Jaden Hardy Can Learn Valuable Lessons From Warriors' Jordan Poole
DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks continued to keep Wednesday's loss to the Golden State Warriors a tightly contested matchup until the final buzzer. A key contributor was Jaden Hardy, who scored 27 points on 10-18 shooting from the floor and 6-9 from 3.
“He was terrific," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of Hardy's performance. "We knew he would play quite a bit, especially with Kyrie [Irving] out, but also with [Tim] Hardaway out. I thought Hardy kept them in the game. ... It felt like we were right there to pull away several times, but somehow, they kept hanging in there. I thought a lot of it had to do with Hardy and his play.”
Hardy has been quite productive for a rookie guard that has been an inconsistent fixture in a team's rotation. In just 14.2 minutes per game, he's averaging 8.7 points and 1.7 rebounds and is shooting 43.2 percent from the floor and 39.5 percent from beyond the arc.
“When I get out there, I just try to let the game come to me – play within the offense, take the right shots, make the right plays,” Hardy said.
As of late, whether it's been Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, or Tim Hardaway Jr., injuries to the Mavs' top veteran perimeter players have resulted in the team needing to lean on Hardy more. When given extended run, he's impressed. In fact, he leads his rookie class in points per 100 possessions (28.9), among the players that have appeared in at least 20 games.
During the early stages of Poole's career, he was an aggressive scorer that had to learn how to better pick his spots, control his use of pace, and to attack within the flow of the offense. In addition, becoming less of a negative on defense while creating looks for teammates were both important to develop.
Poole was quite inefficient during his rookie campaign, averaging 8.8 points and 2.4 assists in 22.4 minutes, but doing so while shooting 33.3 percent from the floor and 27.9 percent from 3-point range. He made strides the following season, but it required spending some time in the G League along the way.
"I think patience — both for coaching staff and the front office, but also for Jordan himself. He spent time in the G League his first two years," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of Poole's year-to-year development. "He was in the G League Bubble in Orlando for a month. I think that was his second year. He worked like crazy to earn everything that he got. That's the common theme, I think, with a lot of young players."
Hard work is a given requirement for all professional athletes to be successful. However, a valuable takeaway from Poole's process for Hardy is that a sense of urgency is required with daily work habits, while maintaining patience with the opportunities that come along the way. .
"If they're trying to get there, it comes down to work, but being patient, too," Kerr said. "There's got to be a sense of urgency with the work, but a sense of patience with the expectations, and that's not always an easy balance to find."
Last season, Poole played an important role for a team that ultimately managed to pull off a successful NBA Finals run. He averaged 18.5 points and 4.0 assists in 30.0 minutes per game. He shot 44.8 percent from the floor and 36.4 percent from deep despite being a shot creator. .
While any young player can benefit from becoming more consistent and efficient, Hardy is noticeably coming into his own. He's playing with a more controlled pace and he's become more intentional in his pick-and-roll reads, and how he attacks mismatches after drawing switches.
"He is gonna be a great, great player," Doncic said of Hardy. "I mean, he's already good, very good, but I think, talking to him, you know, understanding the game, I think sometimes he goes like, really quick. I just tell him, you know, to slow down. But he is really good, and he listens. He listens to me a lot. I think he's gonna be really, really good."
On a team that doesn't have many threats to create outside of its top talents, Hardy's continued development and ability to seize the moment when called upon has been a needed boost for the Mavs. What he can continue to grow into as a player could change the trajectory of the team.
Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Dallas Mavericks? Click Here.
Follow DallasBasketball.com on Twitter and Facebook.
Follow Grant Afseth on Twitter.
