'A Lot of Boogie': Mavs Rookie Jaden Hardy Took Full Advantage of Late Minutes vs. Celtics
Although the Dallas Mavericks saw their seven-game winning streak end in blowout fashion on Thursday night against the Boston Celtics, there was one big bright spot that deserved to be talked about more — the play of promising 20-year-old rookie guard Jaden Hardy in the fourth quarter.
In 15 minutes, Hardy put up 15 points, two rebounds and two assists while shooting 5-8 from the field and 3-3 from deep. Although the game was well out of reach in final period, the Celtics opted to keep their starters in until the final two minutes, which made Hardy’s production even more impressive.
“It felt good to get out there on the floor,” said Hardy. “I had an opportunity to go out there to show what I can do, so it felt good to be out there and playing.”
Hardy has only appeared in 12 games for Dallas this season, but he’s made the most of his minutes on a handful of occasions now. He’s scored 10 points in a win over the Phoenix Suns in less than three minutes of play, 15 points in a loss to Chicago Bulls in 22 minutes of play, and now another 15 points in 15 minutes on Thursday against Boston.
“Really just continuing to work,” said Hardy on staying ready for his opportunities. “Going in there staying late at night in the gym and early in the mornings and just working on my game and staying confident in my abilities. Never have I once doubted myself or thought I wasn’t good enough. I continue to stay humble, continue to stay in the gym, put in work and listen to the players that are already ahead of me and learn from them. That’s really what it is.”
Just to add more context to how Hardy is taking advantage of his limited opportunities, he’s averaging 21.7 points per 36 minutes and 30.2 points per 100 possessions. Although he’s still young and learning, it’s probably time for coach Jason Kidd to find some consistent minutes for Hardy, especially while the Mavs are dealing with multiple key injuries.
“The staff continues to help me get better and continue to show me film. Just listening to them, I feel like they do a good job of developing players,” said Hardy. “With the players we already have being able to learn from guys like Luka, Tim [Hardaway Jr.], Spencer [Dinwiddie], Christian [Wood], all those guys, I feel like it’s good for me and it helps my game.”
It’s true that rookies are prone to mistakes, but given the Mavs’ lack of bench production and inconsistent play from some of their non-Doncic starters, they might be better off both in the short term and long term if Hardy gets some consistent minutes starting now.
Even if Hardy has a really bad shooting night or struggles on the defensive end of the court, that’s nothing we haven’t seen from Mavs veteran Reggie Bullock on several occasions this season, for example — and he’s playing nearly 30 minutes per game.
“I think he’s got a lot of boogie to his game,” said Spencer Dinwiddie. “He is one of the guys that can really be dynamic in terms of offensively and in the paint. It was nice seeing him out there in that time and going for it, and obviously as a vet encouraging him to keep going.”
The potential reward for letting Hardy learn more on the court now is something Dallas can’t pass up, especially when considering how limited the team is with young assets. Nobody is expecting Hardy to be a savior or a second star next to Doncic, but the kid has natural gifts that can help the Mavs both right now and in the future.
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