In what is perhaps the most crucial year of Tim Hardaway Jr.’s career to date, the shooting guard has proven to be a reliable scorer through three games for the New York Knicks
The New York Knicks lost a tight contest on Saturday night, losing to the Boston Celtics 103-101 and giving the Knicks a 1-2 record on the season.
Tim Hardaway Jr., as he has done in every game this season, led the team in the scoring category. He finished with 24 points on 8-21 shooting.
In the three games so far in the 2018-19 season, Hardaway has scored 31, 29, and 24 points respectively.
With Kristaps Porzingis still sidelined for the foreseeable future with a torn ACL, Hardaway has answered the bill as the No. 1 scoring option for the young team playing without an established star.
The 2017 free-agent signing has taken an aggressive approach offensively to start the year, having taken more shots, more threes, and getting to the free-throw line more often.
His aggressiveness has paid dividends through the first three games as Hardaway has been the go-to man for the Knicks offensively.
It is far too early to label this year as a “career year” for the 26-year-old shooting guard, but his play thus far has certainly been a bright spot for David Fizdale’s squad.
Although his play may not result in a large number of wins this year, Hardaway’s ascension with Porzingis out still plays a vital role in New York’s future.
If the former Michigan Wolverine can take the next step as a player and develop into a 20-22 point per game scorer, the Knicks offense could become potent as it adds a healthy Porzingis and a more developed Kevin Knox.
An alternative route to view Hardaway’s success would be to think of his success in terms of his potential trade value. Continued success by the sixth-year guard could justify another team wanting to take on the 17-plus million dollars he is owed if the front office decides to try to move him to open up even more cap space for future free agents.
A trade like this seems highly unlikely as of right now, but if Hardaway surpasses expectation this year he could be a valuable trade asset in the future.
For now, he prepares for New York’s next game, a trip to Milwaukee to face the Bucks on Monday. He will surely be looked upon once again to be a constant offensive threat in the absence of Kristaps Porzingis. There is an immense amount of season left to be played, and THJ will be expected to be a reliable scorer the entire way.
This season is Hardaway’s moment to develop into the complete scorer that would be a key piece of the Knicks future success.
As of right now, he is seizing that moment.