11-25-2019, 06:27 AM
(11-25-2019, 02:38 AM)mavsluvr Wrote:
Is Hardaway going to emerge as this team's third star? If so, that would be huge. The guard was the team's second leading scorer, with 31 points on 10-18 shooting, along with 6-7 free throws. At times, he operated as a second point guard, with 5 assists and only 1 turnover in a team-high 38 minutes. Carlisle praised THJ for a great floor game, great scoring punch and defense, and serving as a "connector." Hardaway had drawn a lot of fan ire for his poor shooting early on, and the coaches have been working with him on some glitches they saw in his footwork. It looks like a case of good teachers and a good learner!
Interesting stat...the team hasn't lost a game in which THJ gets 2 assists or more. During the five game win streak he's had 5,4,4,2 and 3 assists. What is interesting about his assists this season is they are just a little above his career average, but his TO% is half his career average. Many have said if we could just get 16/17 Hardaway (his most efficient shooting year), we'd have something. Many of his stats this season look just like his 16/17 stats (the exception is 2% which is down, but he's taking far fewer of them)
His TS% is the highest it has been since then (.551 now vs. .568 then). His 3% at .367 is the highest it has ever been (.358 in 16/17). The main reason for that is he's taking 1/3 of his 3's from the corner and hitting half of them. He hit 41% of his corner 3's during his brief time with the team last season. He probably won't stay as hot as he's been lately nor as cold as he was earlier. I do agree with the idea that playing next to SUPER high usage Luka protects Hardaway from himself. Some of that is on Luka and some of it is on the coaching staff which has asked THJ to play a different role.
I'm really enjoying these write ups. Thanks.