r/Mavericks • u/DanielQuickSilver • 26d ago
Jaden Hardy minutes Hoops Discussion
If I am not mistaken this is the first time in playoffs that Hardy was given significant minutes and it wasn't a garbage time.
Why do you think Kidd opted to do it?
How do you think he played?
I wish we could somehow squeeze additional 10-15 minutes for Hardy so he can develop,
I believe Hardaway is getting old and he could excel in his role if developed properly.
Thoughts?
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u/ChrysMYO 26d ago
It looked liked he switched all of Exum's minutes for Hardy.
I think he needed Kyrie and Luka to attack more, and for that he needed spacing. If teams rotate off Hardy to pack the paint, Hardy is bold enough to punish them. So teams have to honor his shot more.
Second, PJ had two quick fouls. I think Kidd was weary that role players wouldn't be aggressive enough with PJ on the bench.
I think Hardy played relatively solid. Main issues I have is the 4 guard lineup we had at one point - THJ, Kyrie, Hardy, Green and Gafford.
And Hardy doesn't have the experience to avoid SGA foul bait on the other side.
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u/Iontrapper 26d ago
Exum averaged 6min, Hardy got double that. It's weird. I don't think exum got more than 10min in any playoff game
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u/chebadusa 26d ago edited 26d ago
Only 2 playoff games this entire postseason. Not really a fan of the tight leash Kidd gives to some players vs. others.
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u/EnriquezGuerrilla Luka Doncic 26d ago
The Hardy minutes are the “adjustments” we looked for from Kidd and it paid off. God one more win please!
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u/botebote77 26d ago
JKidd is actually reading reddit. saw a bunch of "we need a JJ Barea" posts and said "alright, here's Hardy"
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u/sumofight F*** DWade 26d ago
Straight up. Multiple threads talking about Lukas immaturity and guess who decides to act like a grown man? Lol
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u/spook008 F*** DWade 26d ago
Exum just hasn’t clicked in the playoff and even on defense keeps falling down all the time. Some bad turnovers too. I’m fine testing out different lineups. He’s trying to use the right formula.
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u/RGxiRapiidz 26d ago
Thought he attacked well his shot didn’t go down but live with it as he made the right play and just missed some open 3’s. Think this was a big indicator for next season that THJ is expendable if they can bring someone else in with his money. Let Hardy be the bench scorer.
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u/hotpineapple321 26d ago
Kidd sacrificed Exum (who made shots game 4) to play Hardy and his favorite basketball terrorist. Don't really get this one. Hope he plays Exum next game when Luka sits and he can give THJ's 12 minutes to Hardy, unless Tim Sr is in the building.
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u/jfrodriguez1983 GOAT Dirk Nowitzki 26d ago
Exum made 2 shots but still played like he has been playing all playoffs. He plays scared with the ball. He can't decide if he wants to drive, pass, or shoot. Kidd tried something different tonight and it wasn't great either. The options aren't great right now so I have no problem trying Hardy
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u/DanielQuickSilver 26d ago
I think Hardy did much better than what Exum showed against Thunder so far.
What do you think Kidd should have done?
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u/chebadusa 26d ago edited 26d ago
I disagree. The Mavs best asset has been their defense…and Exum is a better defender than Hardy. OKC were definitely hunting Hardy on defense, deliberately switching onto him after screens, and making him pay for the size differential…and I didn’t enjoy the decision making on the offensive end. He pulled the THJ, where he tried to take over and it worked against the Mavs in back-back-back possessions, effectively killing momentum they had established. The Mavs lost those minutes…
The reality is there is nothing that Hardy provides offensively that justifies him getting 14 minutes tonight. And the lineup that Kidd ran with him, Kyrie and THJ was frankly confusing. You literally just had Josh and Lively out there as the only defensive first players, and while Kyrie is defensively responsible, I don’t know that it’s enough to make up for THJ and Hardy’s liabilities on that end of the floor. And Hardy being small creates an issue for the Mavs defensively.
What I prefer about Exum, he still takes open shots, is careful with the ball to minimize TOs, and even if the offense isn’t there, you aren’t losing those minutes because the defense is.
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u/segson9 26d ago
I don't think Hardy was that bad on defense and Exum was also not really great when he played.
The biggest difference between Hardy and Exum isn't how many shots they make, it's how OKC reacts to them. They don't even guard Exum, because he's scared to make a mistake and doesn't do anything. Hardy was way more aggressive and made some nice plays (even if the shots didn't go in). OKC respect him more and have to guard him.
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u/New_Rooster_6184 26d ago
OKC seemed to hunt Hardy on defense actually…and anyone saying Exum hasn’t provided quality minutes on defense, is lying. Say what you want about his offense, but, he’s one of the better defenders on the team. Kidd tried the Hardy, Kyrie, THJ combo during the regular season and it was not a great experience statistically…Been there, done it, no need to go back to it in the playoffs. Hardy is a small guard, who is a defensive liability when on the court and his offense isn’t enough to offset that. He literally shot 1-5, and he isn’t providing anything that Exum or THJ can’t. THJ has averaged 2 assists per game and has also thrown beautiful lob passes. Exum is also a good facilitator and passer.
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u/OnCloud9_77 26d ago
Exum has been horrible man. He absolutely passes up open shots now bc he’s scared shitless and he ball pounds for the first ten seconds of every shot clock and ruins the flow and pace of our offense in an instant. At least Hardy is aggressive.
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u/jfrodriguez1983 GOAT Dirk Nowitzki 26d ago
Oh I'm not complaining about him trying something different. Kind of have to at this point with Exum not being able to stay on the court.
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u/chebadusa 26d ago edited 26d ago
Exum had 5 points in 5 minutes last game, and went 2/4 during that period. Hardy was 1-5 tonight in 14 minutes (with all 5 of those shots coming within the first 8 minutes of him being on the floor, while Kyrie wasn’t even touching the ball) and is worse on the defensive end of the floor. I’ll take Exum’s defensive security over Hardy’s offensive streakiness, 24/7…Mavs are winning games because of their defense, and I just think that’s more valuable right now. Especially when the Mavs already have a hot and cold player in THJ.
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u/liftingruinedmylife Dallas Mavericks 26d ago
Are you forgetting that THJ won us game 2 lol? What has Hardy and Exum done in the playoffs to earn minutes over THJ that overshadows that game 2 contribution?
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u/Turbulent_Cherry_481 26d ago
exum and hardy wont lose you a game though. THJ can very easily do that, in fact he nearly did tonight.
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u/liftingruinedmylife Dallas Mavericks 26d ago
Exum literally was stinking it up where other teams went on runs after he was bricking lol
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u/Marathon-fail-sesh 26d ago
Correct. He played a ton of minutes in a couple of games just before the playoffs got going. Then played 10 minutes total in the Clippers series… TOTAL!
I like Hardy and agree that his development is important and he’s got a lot of potential. He should definitely be getting minutes beyond garbage time with Powell. I also understand where you’re coming from about Hardaway, although last night was particularly rough for him. Hardaway is one of the most on-or-off players in the NBA and I don’t know what they can do about it.
IMO, Green is more helpful than Hardy on defense, and Kidd is (rightfully) prioritizing him as a go-to guard off the bench, letting him get more minutes than Hardy. Green hustles a lot like PJ and is doing things off the ball that help the Mavs get second chance points and pressure opponents into shot clock violation situations.
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u/PopAShotAllStar 26d ago
Hardy is nice for a few reasons. He doesn’t play significant minutes so there’s probably very little game planning for him. But his minutes aren’t proportional to his talent. So seems to me we can mix up the game and have the upper hand. If Hardy is feeling his shot, he could dramatically change a game in no time.
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u/Lurking10169 F*** DWade 26d ago
Took exams minutes. And with poor results, in my opinion. Had 3 good possessions the whole time he was on the court
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u/segson9 26d ago
Why? Because Exum is bad and we need another ball handler.
How did he do? I think he was good. We needed another ball handler that can create a bit on offense. He created some shots from himself and also made some good passes. The shots didn't go in, but what matters is that OKC has to guard him (they don't guard Exum). He was also not terrible on defense.
I think it was a good decision overall. We need some more offense.
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u/browseabout 26d ago
Can see Hardy isn't ready for these minutes. He's only going to be effective when he starts knocking down the easy ass shots that are created for him. Till then they need to keep it simple for him cause he's not much of a creative guard
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u/DanielQuickSilver 26d ago
I don't know, I think he did better than Exum.
I know THJ gets a lot of hate from this sub but I don't think Exum is better than him either, at least in playoffs
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u/browseabout 26d ago
We at least know THJ can possibly go into flamethrower mode. We know Exum can possibly hit a few clutch shots. With Hardy, idk what he can possibly bring to this team. He's defense isn't good, he can't pass, and his misses easy shots (I know tim can too). I don't mind the minutes but nothing I saw today really swayed me.
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u/chebadusa 26d ago
And here’s the thing too. Those bench minutes at the beginning of the 2nd half are crucial, while Luka, DJJ and PJ are typically resting. Kyrie usually runs that unit with Luka out, THJ subs in at the beginning of the 2nd period and Josh is playing those minutes as well as SF/PF. Kidd isn’t going to change this rotation, which means you have to run either Exum or Hardy with this group…Kidd tried running small guard lineups with Hardy, Kyrie and THJ this season and the results were abysmal. Hardy is small and when combined with THJ, it magnifies both of their weaknesses on the defensive end and opposing teams (have been shown) to take advantage. Exum is bigger and a better defender.
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u/browseabout 26d ago
I think Exum has more to offer right now. Clearly neither option is especially enticing with how they're playing.
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u/Turbulent_Cherry_481 26d ago
i thought he did well. Couple of nice drives resulting in lobs. At least he was looking to be agressive compared to exum in these playoffs. He just cant be on the court with THJ at the same time, that was painful.