New York Knicks guard Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 37 points against the Washington Wizards on Wednesday, Feb. 14. The performance epitomized his essence.
There’s a term in the NBA—streak shooter—that can only be associated with a certain type of player. These players are typically great shooters, but often can’t seem to find the bottom of the basket with regularity.
But when they do, it’s best to take cover, because before you know it, they’re raining down shots from every spot on the court.
New York Knicks shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. is one of those players, and it was never more apparent than on Wednesday night against the Washington Wizards.
Hardaway began the game on fire, converting six out of seven field goal attempts in both the first and second quarter. He went to the locker room with 32 points, leaving many to wonder if he could crack 50, or maybe even go for Carmelo Anthony’s franchise record of 62.
After all, when a streak shooter starts to get hot, not much can slow them down.
Alas, slowing down is exactly what happened to Hardaway in the second half, as he shot just 2-of-9, finishing the game with “just” 37 points along with two crucial turnovers in the game’s final minutes.
After shooting 25.8 percent over his last seven games. his style of play didn’t change for this specific game, nor did it change in between halves.
In the first half, he took all but three shots outside the restricted area and was largely successful. The second half saw much of the same, with only two shots in the paint. As we’ve come to learn with Hardaway, his game lives and dies with his jumper—and that’s what makes him so frustrating.
When Hardaway’s shot is falling, he’s tough to stop. But as we also saw, when it’s not, he doesn’t really bring much else to the table.
The man had five rebounds and one assist. Not exactly the type of production you want out of a guy with a $71 million dollar contract.
If Hardaway Jr. wants to play more like the 1st half than the 2nd moving forward, he can’t bank on his jump shot falling on any given night. He has to work on the other parts of his game so that when the defense forces him to drive, he can still be productive.
Streaky shooters have tough habits to break. Rarely do they try to diversify their games, for fear they might lose what got them to this point in their careers.
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If New York Knicks shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. wants to shed that label, he’s going to have to try.