Dallas Basketball

Mavs BREAKING: Luka Doncic OUT; Rookie Move Jaden Hardy at Bulls

When the Dallas Mavericks take on the Chicago Bulls on Saturday, they will do so with Luka Doncic being among their inactive players. Will Jaden Hardy play?

Grant Afseth

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The Dallas Mavericks came up short in their 106-105 loss to Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday. They will tip off against the Chicago Bulls less than 24 hours later, but they will not be doing so with Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber, or Josh Green available to play. 

By ruling out Doncic and other key players, it makes the Mavs' loss to the Bucks all the more challenging to look past. Dallas shot an atrocious 10-24 (41.7 percent) on free throws in a one-point loss. They even came up empty on six consecutive attempst over the final 3:41 of regulation. Keep in mind, Tim Hardaway Jr. went 0-3 after getting fouled on a 3-point attempt, then Dorian Finney-Smith came up empty on a pair of attempts of his own. 

In terms of the listed injuries, Doncic is dealing with a right quadricep strain, Green has a right elbow sprain, and Kleber is dealing with right foot soreness. Dallas recalled Jaden Hardy from the G League and is flying him to Chicago to be available to play. 

Just like the Mavs, Hardy played on Friday night, but did so for the Texas Legends. He finished with 39 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and two steals in 36 minutes. He shot 12-20 from the floor, 5-9 from 3-point range, and 6-7 on free throws. He is averaging a G League-leading 30.0 points per game on staggeringly efficient results. 

Hardy has yet to receive legitimate NBA playing time. He has shown flashes of his potential in end of game situations when the Mavs had already determined the outcome as being a win. If he does end up receiving actual rotation minutes, it'll be the first of his career with Dallas.

The peak of the "Hardy party" came when he scored 10 points in the span of about two minutes at the end of the Mavs' 130-111 win over the Phoenix Suns. He was aggressive in getting to the rim against rotation players and shot 4-5 from the floor and 2-2 on free throws.

"He got to play there at the end, and he played well," Mavs coach Jason Kidd said of Hardy's performance against the Suns. "He played the right way. Hopefully, we can continue to put him in those situations that are a positive. 

"There are things that we can always teach, like try not to foul when you're off-ball. He's young, he's going to make mistakes, but it's always good to have him on the floor late to get him minutes."

With how many veteran players the Mavs have on their roster, the pathway to giving Hardy minutes would require someone else to play less. At this time, there doesn’t seem to be a willingness from Kidd to reduce the playing time of other players on the roster.

“Mathematically, they probably haven’t thought about that side," Kidd said of fans calling for Hardy to play more. "They just feel [that he] should play. Well, that’s good, and I think we all want him to play. We've been healthy and those minutes are spoken for when you talk about Luka at 40, somebody is only going to be able to play eight. You have Spencer at 30. Those (minutes) are spoken for.

"It's hard (to find minutes) when you're healthy — you have to be patient. ... I know society isn't patient, or Twitter isn't patient because they want it now. ... But this is a job, first and foremost. My job is to put these guys in a position to be successful. Right now we have a good thing going. Hardy has to wait, ask Josh (Green).”

Kidd continued: "Twitter isn't the coach or the player. It's just a platform to express your opinion and that's as far as it goes, but some of us believe it, some of us believe it's the rule or the law. It's basketball. This is a game. Everyone's going to get an opportunity. Frank (Ntilikina) is going to get an opportunity. It's just the nature of the game. Someone is going to be hurt or sick — somebody has to step up."

The performance that Hardy offers the Mavs on Saturday will undoubtedly spark the conversation about his short-term outlook from fans. He undoubtedly has dynamic potential. If he shows it against the Bulls and it impacts winning, be sure to check your Twitter feed to hear what those "Twitter coaches" have to say. 

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Grant Afseth
GRANT AFSETH

Grant Afseth is a Dallas Mavericks reporter for MavericksGameday.com and an NBA reporter for NBA Analysis Network. He previously covered the Indiana Pacers and NBA for CNHI's Kokomo Tribune and various NBA teams for USA TODAY Sports Media Group. Follow him on Twitter (@grantafseth), Facebook (@grantgafseth), and YouTube (@grantafseth). You can reach Grant at grantafseth35@gmail.com.

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