Tim Hardaway Jr. Has Breakthrough vs. Warriors; Will it Continue?

Dallas Mavericks' Tim Hardaway Jr. shot 5-11 from 3-point range against the Golden State Warriors after a struggling start to the season. We’ll see if it was just a hot night or an actual breakthrough.

It has been a tough process for Tim Hardaway Jr. to get back to his previous level since his season-ending foot injury last season. He's averaging just 10.8 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 2.0 assists for the Dallas Mavericks while shooting 32.7 percent from the floor and 30.8 percent from beyond the arc. 

Hardaway's season hit rock bottom during the Mavs' recent three-game road trip after scoring just two points on 0-9 shooting from the floor and 0-5 from deep against the Denver Nuggets. During this four-game span, he averaged 3.5 points and 1.0 assists while shooting 17.2 percent overall and 10.5 percent from 3-point range. Dallas had a -8.8 net rating in the 81 minutes that he was on the court during this span.

The lowest point for Hardaway occurred in the Mavs' 124-115 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. With Reggie Bullock getting a rest day, Hardaway received the starting nod, being a potential chance to have a bounce-back outing. He finished with six points on 2-8 shooting while going 2-6 from deep.

The Golden State Warriors are one of those teams that get circled on the calendar as an upcoming matchup. Hardaway stepped up in a major way with 22 points on 8-16 shooting from the floor with five made 3s in the Mavs' 116-113 victory. Dallas gave him the start even in Bullock's return with the idea of re-establishing his confidence.

Hardaway was sorely struggling to convert on catch-and-shoot looks despite taking the same amount per game (5.2) as Stephen Curry. Hardaway was shooting 28-94 (29.8 percent) on catch-and-shoot 3s entering Tuesday's game, which ranked 45th among 48 players with at least 75 attempts. On wide open 3-point attempts, he shot 17-53 (32.1 percent), ranking 43rd among 47 players with 50 or more attempts.

Any team will naturally achieve more success when their outside shots are converting. However, the Mavs take 47.6 percent of their field goal attempts as 3s, which trails only the Boston Celtics (48.1 percent) and Warriors (48.0 percent) in frequency — making it essential that top shooting options are consistent in their execution. 

"He was due," Mavs coach Jason Kidd said of Hardaway's bounce-back performance. "These guys are human and we're trying to put these guys in a position to feel good. For Timmy [Hardaway Jr.], we needed him to start to maybe pick up Reggie [Bullock] and he did that tonight. ... I thought Timmy played an incredible game." 

"We had a good talk yesterday. He came in to work. Whenever you see someone not shooting the ball well and not playing well and coming in maybe on a day off when you can stay at home, he was in there working. That's what it takes to sometimes get out of a shooting slump; you've got to put in the actual work."

The Mavs first got on the board using a made 3 from Hardaway. He was deployed in the two-man game with Doncic and with the Warriors using a show-and-recover coverage, Doncic threw a behind-the-back pass to Hardaway. With confidence, he raised up to shoot and knocked it down. 

As they did in the Western Conference Finals, the Warriors made it a point to overload the strong side against Doncic — making it paramount that the weak-side makes the defense pay by knocking down outside shots. 

Early in the first quarter, Doncic drew two on a post-up and got the ball popping around the unit, leading to Hardaway catching it in the corner. Curry had to rotate from clear across the court, prompting him to use a side-step before shooting. He remained unbothered by Curry's contest and ultimately drew a foul to go with the make. 

Early in the second half, the Warriors continued to overload the strong side against Doncic. He drove baseline to force the commitment from two defenders, resulting in Hardaway being left open on the weak-side again. Doncic directly darted the ball to Hardaway on the slot. Once again, he drew a foul on the contest and still knocked it down. 

Playing at a faster pace is important against a team like the Warriors that tries to make life challenging on the opposing superstar in the half-court. However, when doing so, getting quality shots is crucial, but converting is even more pivotal. 

Doncic took advantage of the early attention he tends to draw by timing a spray-ahead pass to Dorian Finney-Smith in the corner. Before Curry and Andrew Wiggins could communicate about accounting for Hardaway, Finney-Smith already passed it to him. Hardaway took advantage by knocking it down after stepping into the shot with the help of Dwight Powell obstructing Kevon Looney from closing out. 

Hardaway's shooting made another important appearance for the Mavs — this time in clutch-time. Dallas trailed 110-108 with under two minutes left to play in regulation. Doncic used a screen from Josh Green to get Jonathan Kuminga switched away from the ball. Then, Hardaway got brought up to screen with Curry involved in the play since Doncic knew he could exploit their show-and-recover coverage to get Hardaway an open look.

Hardaway attributes the talk that he had with Kidd as being helpful in his bounce-back performance. He didn't want to share the details of the conversation with reporters in the post-game interview, but he did highlight how being able to communicate clearly was beneficial. 

“It was great," Hardaway said of his talk with Kidd. "Just picking each other’s brain for the most part and that’s basically it. I’m not going to get too deep into the conversation. It’s between us, but you know it was great – just to be able to talk and communicate and hear each other speak. 

"It was all great, it was all positive, and just one thing I will say he just wanted me to go out there and have fun and be the Tim that everybody knows. For the most part, that’s what I tried to do.”

In terms of a tangible change in shooting mechanics, Hardaway did acknowledge that he must focus on releasing at the top of his jump as opposed to when he's on the way down. It was something that he felt was an issue contributing to his slow start to the season. 

“Yeah, just having a little more confidence. Releasing at the top and mechanics were fine. Just making sure I’m releasing at the top of my jump shot and not on the way down.”

To gain additional insight on Hardaway's shooting mechanics, DallasBasketball.com spoke to NBA skills trainer and shooting mechanics expert Joey Burton. He works with various clients including Georges Niang of the Philadelphia 76ers, who has shot over 40 percent from 3-point range in four consecutive seasons and is on track to do it again. 

"Tim Hardaway Jr. has the tendency to shoot the ball at the peak of his jump, or even slightly on the way down," Burton explained. "This has an impact on the trajectory of the shot — causing a flatter arc angle. This will lead to short misses, his most common miss. When he shoots the ball on the way up, he generates great arc, maximizing the area of the rim the ball can enter through. 

"You see the great shooters like Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Georges Niang, Kevin Huerter, and Donovan Mitchell shoot on the way up, which allows for consistency and optimal arc angle."

The short misses and inconsistent process from Hardaway were on display against the Bucks. He had some genuinely bad short misses and Milwaukee often wasn't even bothering to make a contest, and there was some uncharacteristic hesitation after halftime on his part.

The adjustment in Hardaway's shot process was instrumental in his success against the Warriors, but will he continue to stay disciplined in his approach to maximize his consistency? That'll be something to monitor going forward.

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