Mavs Film Room: Jaden Hardy Shines in NBA Summer League Debut

Jaden Hardy scored 28 points in his NBA Summer League debut. We take a closer look at the Dallas Mavericks rookie's performance.

LAS VEGAS — In his NBA Summer League debut, Dallas Mavericks guard Jaden Hardy finished with 28 points, four rebounds, three assists, and one steal in 33 minutes against the Chicago Bulls. 

“It felt really great to get out there and play with the team,” Hardy said. “We’ve been practicing for the past couple of days, so just getting out there and having fun really. The message was just come out there, play hard, play together. I feel like that’s what we did.”

While the counting stats were favorable for Hardy, he struggled significantly in the half-court. His output of 0.75 points per possession within the half-court features shooting figures of 5-14 (35.7 percent) from the floor along with six turnovers. 

“It’s a learning experience – I’m still learning the game,” Hardy said. “It’s only going to make me better in the long run. Those (late turnovers) for sure were learning experiences. All I can do is watch the film and learn from them.

“And they (the coaching staff) really want to help me.”

In a setting like NBA Summer League, you want to see players pop by displaying dynamic potential in key areas. Hardy was regarded as an elite prospect before his stock tumbled with the G-League Ignite, making him an intriguing player to focus on throughout the Summer Mavericks' schedule. 

Here are some observations from Hardy's performance: 

Success Attacking Off The Catch

When a player puts on a Mavericks jersey within this decade, they will likely be primarily playing without the basketball in their hands unless they wear No. 77. Having the ability to play off the catch is an important attribute to have to fit in. 

Even without this superstar teammate on the court, Hardy displayed legitimate impact out of spot-up. It was already well known that he can knock down catch-and-shoot jumpers at a high clip considering he did precisely that with the G-League Ignite. Seeing additional layers like getting to a step-back on the drive was intriguing. 

Hardy had a nice possession where he decided to shake up out of the corner and attack into open space in the middle of the floor. His footwork opened up this drive. The initial step before the between the legs dribble got the on-ball defender to commit to containing a baseline drive that never happened. Hardy created an advantage to get deep on the drive and draw the foul. 

The shooting ability that Hardy possesses was on display on a corner 3-point make he had despite an inaccurate pass resulting in a low, wide catch. The defender was able to make a tighter contest due to the pass, but Hardy still knocked it down. Doncic does a tremendous job of hitting guys in the numbers on his ball reversals, but again, being capable of tough shot-making is important. 

Did Significant Damage In Transition

While Hardy certainly struggled overall within the half-court, he was highly efficient in transition situations. He produced an output of 1.5 points per possession, which helped to elevate the efficiency of his overall performance. Being able to find multiple ways to make an impact is important and he displayed that. 

What was most impressive from Hardy in these situations is that he wasn't just getting run-outs for easy finishes. He was seeking out chances to attack in semi-transition and even finished through contact when the situation required. Finishing at the rim was a weakness during his season with the G-League Ignite, so this is a positive. 

The Summer Bulls are best equipped to engage in ball screen coverage close to the level with their foot speed but do not have much for a weak-side shot-blocking presence. It was important for Hardy to take advantage of opportunities to aggressively attack the rim when the defense wasn't set.

Struggled In Pick & Roll Situations

When it comes to NBA Summer League, it's crucial to cut through the fluff and focus on areas that will actually translate to regular basketball in a player's typical role. For any guard that will have the ball in their hands, they have to succeed in running high pick-and-roll. It's among the most common sequences in half-court offense. 

With Jalen Brunson's departure, the Mavericks need more non-Luka talents to step up and score out of pick-and-roll. There wasn't a player more efficient on at least a medium volume of possessions last season than Brunson, so that's a genuine void to fill. Seeing how Hardy executes will be important as a potential third guard.

In his NBA Summer League opener, Hardy produced a rough 0.571 points per possession on seven high ball screens against the Bulls. There's some context that needs to be taken into consideration, though. For example, some of his ball screens came with 6-foot-7 Justin Gorham as the screener, who the defense had legitimately no respect for as a threat. With the Bulls' bigs often playing close to the level of the screen and having foot speed to contain, it wasn't an easy matchup. 

The first ball screen possession Hardy had in this game was a prime example of the challenges of going against the Summer Bulls' defense. Hardy attacked baseline out of a left-side pick-and-roll where the screener was left wide open on the pop and both ball screen defenders engaged Hardy on the drive. He got stuck baseline with the low-man in position to take away the pass to the corner, resulting in a turnover. 

Against more traditional ball screen coverage that featured Simonovic not playing close to the level and recovering to the rim roller, Hardy was able to come off wide into a pull-up 3-pointer. The on-ball defender was unable to recover in time to get a tight contest. Ultimately, this is why the Bulls' opted to play close to the level consistently in key moments of the second half.

On the pull-up that Hardy attempted near the nail, Gorham didn't make contact with the on-ball defender and popped. The defense veer-switched this sequence with Makur Maker as the big defender. As a result, Hardy ended up killing his dribble near the nail with the big defender in position to tightly contest his pull-up jumper. 

During another ball screen possession with Gorham as the screener, Hardy received an aggressive stunt one pass away near the elbow and had the full commitment of the big defender. The final result was Hardy getting blocked on a left-hand finish attempt deep on the drive. He may need to pass open the strong-side corner sooner after navigating the stunt going forward.

The Summer Bulls have a lot of foot speed to contain ball screens and that was an issue for the Mavericks' offense often. When it came to executing in clutch time, it was on full display. Marko Simonovic, the Bulls' big defender, was engaging close to the level of the screen and rounded off Hardy's attack into a veer-switch. The shot clock was winding down for Hardy and he had to take a tough shot along the baseline. 

The possession that featured Hardy deciding to reject the ball screen was an intriguing decision to see. The Bulls' big defender, Simonovic, was ready to engage at the level of the screen had Hardy used the screen. Rejecting it at least presented the option of having momentum going to the rim to draw a foul against a contest. 

Again, it's genuinely impressive the level of defensive execution the Summer Bulls played with in ball screen coverage. They have the quickness to take away the advantages teams tend to face by going up against drop coverage by instead playing close to the level of the screen. With disciplined stunts near the elbow, it reduces the options the ball handler has at his disposal. 

Hardy made a commendable read late in overtime that instead of just coming off the ball screen straight into a drive, snaking the screen to get into the gap could be the better option to force the big defender to shift his hips and recover. By dragging out the ball screen further from the 3-point line, he was attempting to afford himself the extra space for this purpose. Instead, his screener set a back-screen and the play was blown up ending in a turnover.  

While we're on the topic of not having great synergy with the screener, Hardy had a turnover earlier in the game because the ball went off the screener's foot. There has to be some adjustments and improved chemistry between Hardy and his screeners for him to get valuable reps in these situations. 

How Hardy executes against defenses with less defensive versatility will be intriguing to see. There isn't much talent for him to work with in pick-and-roll actions that command the respect of the defense. He's going to have to drag out his ball screens further from the 3-point line against teams with quicker big defenders in NBA Summer League until he has regular NBA personnel. 

Struggled In Isolation, Against Switching

To the Bulls' credit, they did a tremendous job of guarding Hardy out in space. On most possessions, there was a highly technical, disciplined approach was used by the on-ball defender. Hardy was often unable to draw a reaction from the on-ball defender to gain an advantage. 

Dalen Terry displayed why he is one of the most underrated perimeter defenders in this year's draft class when guarding Hardy on the possession below. Terry didn't switch the ball screen and anticipated Hardy getting to the step-back going to his left before he even got into his shot process, resulting in the block. 

When Hardy drew Malcolm Hill on a switch after a handoff out of the corner, he attempted to gain an advantage using a hesitation dribble. Hill did not bite and seemingly knew what was coming. Hill was playing off Hardy and tracked him into a cut-off two dribbles deep. After Hardy went to a spin move as a counter, Hill anticipated the right-hand floater was coming and made a tight contest.

On the clutch-time drive that ended in Hardy turning it over, the Bulls were very sound as a unit defensively. Hardy got Hill to react to his left-hand hesitation dribble, which set up a left-to-right crossover to attack the paint. Carlik Jones recognized this and was waiting to make an aggressive stunt near the elbow. Hill recovered deep on the drive and ripped the ball loose. 

In a tied game with the final possession in regulation, Hardy had the ball in his hands to make a heroic play. Hill knew he wasn't going to have a help defender in position to assist if Hardy won at the point of attack and drove right. As a result, Hill favored taking his chances with Hardy taking a step-back going to his left. The shot didn't fall.

Flashed Potential In Half-Court Actions

Given the limitations of the Summer Mavericks' high ball screen offense, there were understandably better flashes of Hardy's potential when he was involved in half-court actions beginning off the ball. It's challenging for the defense to load up compared to when running a high ball screen. 

Out of a "Chicago" action, Hardy had an easier time getting deep on the drive because the big defender had to respect the big after the handoff and there isn't a stunt to force an early pick-up of the dribble. He drew a foul with the on-ball defender hacking him on the recovery against the inside-hand scoop finish attempt. 

Hardy thrived out of a "Miami" action because the big defender once again is placed in a vulnerable position if they over-commit to the ball. This is another half-court action that makes it challenging for the defense to make an impactful stunt since it's much easier to load up one pass away on high pick-and-roll. The end result? A simple finish at the rim for Hardy. 

Another positive possession from Hardy occurred when he began the possession off the ball in part of their five-out "Wide" series. Instead of running a regular double-wide pindown play, the play develops for Hardy to receive a step-up screen. With space to work with, he attacked with a right-to-left crossover to get into open space ending with a step-back at the elbow. 

The Mavericks deployed Hardy as a ghost screener on one possession and he took full advantage. The two ball screen defenders elected not to switch the sequence and Hardy took advantage by using a pause on the catch to force the fly-by. He drove middle into open space, but there was one issue: not having A.J. Lawson spaced out left a help defender in position at the front of the charge circle. Hardy still ended up drawing a foul. 

When Does Hardy Play Next?

The Mavericks take on the Utah Jazz on Monday at 9:00 p.m. CST on NBA TV.

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You can follow Grant Afseth on Twitter at @GrantAfseth.

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