ORLANDO – Whenever Mavericks guard Tim Hardaway Jr. gets in a funk on the basketball court, guess who is just a
phone call away to help steer him back on the right path?
His father – Tim Hardaway Sr.
Hardaway Sr. played in the NBA from 1989-2003, was a five-time All-Star, won a gold medal with the United States Olympic team in 2000, and also was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame last year. So he knows about the ups and downs of a pro basketball player, and about all the negativity surrounding the game that can get a player mired in a shooting slump.
So, when Hardaway Jr. is feeling down in the dumps, he already knows who he’s going to reach out and touch.
“Just having a hall of famer as a father definitely helps,” Hardaway Jr. said after scoring 21 points in Monday’s 117-102 win over the Orlando Magic. “He’s a phone call away.
“I ask him for advice. He’s not a coach.”
Since Hardaway Jr.’s father has been in his shoes before, his influence and solid words of encouragement carry a lot of weight.
“There’s a lot of times whe
n I tell him I need you to be my pops,” Hardaway Jr. said. “And he understands that, and that eases me out a little bit to go out there and do my thing and gives me that confidence to go out there and execute and be the player who I am.”
Hardaway’s game has been so refined that he’s one of the leading candidates to capture this year’s Sixth Man Award. After seven games, the 11-year veteran is averaging 18.1 points off the bench while also shooting 38.5 percent from beyond the three-point arc.
“First and foremost, it’s accepting the (sixth man) role,” said Hardaway Jr., who is accustomed to being in the starting lineup. “And second, it’s being out there and being aggressive and having that mindset that if the first group’s got it going, keep that pace going. And if that first group doesn’t have it going, then do your best to make a difference to make that first group’s job a lot easier.
“But obviously I can’t do a lot of this without the four other guys that are out there on the court with me. We play fast, we’re aggressive, we try our best to defend to the best of our abilities and just try to do our best to help that first group stay intact and keep the game close or extend the game.”
Here are the three takeaways from the 15-point victory over Orlando.
DONCIC/IRVING TAKEOVER: When things get a bit dicey, the Mavs know it doesn’t hurt to have a couple of bona fide closers who know how to guide the ship into port. That’s what happened Monday as Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving combined to
score the Mavs’ final 13 points of the game and keep the Magic at bay. Down the stretch, Doncic tallied seven points and Irving added another six. That lethal one-two combination from two of the game’s most prolific closers was way too much for the Magic to handle. Doncic and Irving combined for 50 points, 10 rebounds, 16 assists and five steals.
THIRD QUARTER TURNAROUND: The Magic had everything going their way. They led by as much as 15 points (63-48) in the first half, and toted a 66-53 lead into the dressing room at the game’s midway point when they were shooting a sizzling 59.1 percent from the field. Then came the third quarter. And oh, how the game flipped. In the third quarter the Mavs outscored the Magic, 33-17. They also flexed their muscles on defense, holding Orlando to just 7-of-24 shots from the field in that quarter for a frosty 29.2 percent.
MAVS WERE CLUTCH – AGAIN: A pattern has developed this early in the season, much to the Mavs’ liking. The Mavs have racked up a 6-1 record this season. And all six wins have been in the clutch, with those six wins leading the NBA in the clutch wins department. The NBA considers a game in the clutch when the scoring margin is five points or less with five or fewer minutes remaining in the game. So, the Mavs have shown that when the game reaches that do-or-die level, they have more than a fair chance of coming out on top.
X: @DwainPrice
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