IT'S HARDY TIME: Jaden Hardy looking like a decent prospect

[Mavs2021]

Hardy looked AWFUL in the first half and that's a great thing!

He can't figure out how to be effective in the NBA unless he struggles. He's not going to struggle in the G-League and at the end of blowout games so he's not going to learn anything.

One of the things that I've always admired about teams like the Spurs, Heat, and Warriors. They put their young kids in the game and let them learn. Maybe its only 5 minutes per half but they get real game action. Player development.

So many teams do that.

It should actually be so much easier on a good team, if you play Hardy with four veterans.

I seriously do not understand the benefit of playing a baby with four other babies rather than four adults.

Seems one of these confusing concept always used by the Mavs in the pre-season, too.

Last night Hardy played six minutes in the first half. +/- was zero, despite him still trying to figure things out. In garbage time he played with the other scrubs with nothing on the line and it was -7.

It´s so much easier and healthier for the development of a young player to give him some (pre-determined) minutes in the regular rotation than just feed him meaningless gartbage minutes. He feels respected, motivated, engaged, but he also gets schooled against the real level and intensity of opposition. Then you want the player to respond to the challenge, learn and adapt or trade him for future picks.

Against the Spurs I´d play him at least 20 minutes.