Instead of shying away from the pressure, New York Knicks shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. is taking accountability for his poor performances.
Tim Hardaway Jr. has put together what can only be described as an unorthodox season. He’s endured two separate stretches of historically abhorrent play, but he’s also been one of the most valuable players on the New York Knicks.
In the midst of a stretch that has some questioning if his psyche has been broken, Hardaway is taking accountability for how his abysmal production and poor decisions have hurt the team.
Hardaway has played three consecutive dreadful games at the most critical time of the season. He’s shot a combined 5-of-33 from the field, 1-of-15 from beyond the arc, and 8-of-12 from the charity stripe during that stretch.
According to Zach Braziller of The New York Post, Hardaway took responsibility for his miscues and put the losses on himself.
"“These last two games are definitely on me,” Hardaway said Monday following practice. “Had a chance to seal the game in Milwaukee [on Friday], didn’t do it. Had the opportunity to bring the ball [out] previous game against the Hawks, didn’t do that as well. If I did, some of the clock would’ve probably went down, and we had an opportunity to win the game.”"
Thankfully, Hardaway isn’t going to wallow in his own misery. Instead, he’s going to do what’s necessary to learn from his mistakes.
"“That’s on me, that’s not on nobody else but myself. I watched film of it, got better from it, learned from it, and moving forward.”"
It’s certainly fair to be skeptical, but based on how Hardaway responded to the first four games of the 2017-18 regular season, he may deserve the benefit of the doubt.
Hardaway began the season by shooting 26.5 percent from the field and 22.2 percent from beyond the arc. In the 25 appearances that followed his four-game stretch to forget, however, he looked the part of a rising star.
During that 25-game window, Hardaway averaged 19.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.4 steals, and 2.6 three-point field goals made per game.
He did so on an efficient slash line of .456/.363/.802, which all but confirmed that he’d recovered from his poor start to the season.
Moving forward, it’s fair to be skeptical of whether or not Hardaway will be able to turn things around. History suggests that he’ll return to form in due time, however, which makes optimism all but entirely justifiable.
Hardaway will have his first shot at redemption on Tuesday, Feb. 6, when the Knicks host the Milwaukee Bucks with a shot at revenge.
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The New York Knicks have invested heavily in Tim Hardaway Jr. Thankfully, he’s willing to work through the issues he’s encountered.