Of all the things that have happened this season for the Mavericks, the one that probably has been the most uplifting is the development of Jaden Hardy.
The rookie certainly didn’t take any short cuts.
More of a long cut.
But after bouncing from the Texas Legends in the G-League to the Mavericks early in the season, the 6-4 guard maneuvered himself into coach Jason Kidd’s playing rotation in February and has been a mainstay over the last month.
He’s averaged 13.6 points and shot 50 percent from three-point range in the last 13 games. He’s also averaged 21.4 minutes per game during that span.
“My rookie season? I feel like it was a good season for me,” Hardy said on Tuesday. “Me starting in the G-League to coming up and trying to take advantage of my opportunity and just learning along the way. (Trying to) elevate my game, asking questions of other guys, taking things from their routine, trying to add it to mine. I feel like it’s been a good season, a good learning experience for me.”
One that should set Hardy up for even better times in the future.
The 37th pick of last year’s draft, Hardy has a fully guaranteed contract for next season and if he continues the upward progression, the Mavericks will have found an absolute gem with that second-round pick.
“For sure, I feel like just being around my teammates, and them giving me confidence and me believing in myself and the work I put in – I feel like it set me up for sure (for the future),” he said.
The only downer, of course, has been that the Mavericks are in a dicey situation going into the final three games of the regular season. They must win two more games than the Oklahoma City Thunder if they hope to squeeze into the play-in tournament for a chance at the No. 7 or 8 seed in the playoffs.
Hardy is like everybody else. He expected better days filled with playoff electricity. That hasn’t happened, but he said that hasn’t dimmed the Mavericks’ feelings about themselves.
“Everybody’s confidence is still here,” he said. “It’s a long season, there’s going to be ups and downs. I feel like you should never get down on yourself. It’s a team sport. Everybody does a good job of talking to each other, lifting everybody up when things aren’t going well. We still believe in ourselves.”
The highlight of Hardy’s season probably came when he got three starting assignments in a row – the first of the season for him – and had at least 22 points in all three. He also averaged 5.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists.
But as has been the case too often of late, the Mavericks lost two of those three games. It was all part of the growing process, he said.
“We all had aspirations of wanting to get back to the Western Conference finals, but if things don’t go your way, that don’t mean you just get down on yourself,” Hardy said. “Just keep working, continue to grow, build together and in the future, that’s what we’re trying to do is win championships. You got to learn from those experiences. There’s still hope We still believe in ourselves.”
Twitter: @ESefko
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