MAVS NEWS:

[Chicagojk]

See, and I think they both have to learn how to play point guard to stay in the league. I think the days of labeling guards as one or the other are almost over, and especially with Hardy, I don’t think people realize how important having the ball in his hands is to his chances to flourish. Without him developing as an offensive initiator, he’s going to end up just like Hardaway. He may never have a PG next to his name, but he’s got to be able to play that position to stay in the NBA, I think.

Either way, when you watch how the Mavericks have been using him, it is clear that Hardy is going to be doing the same things that Luka and Kyrie do when he is on the court. It’s a pick and roll basketball team, and it is super, super clear that they view him as a ball-handler, not just a floor-spacer. Call him whatever position you want, but I agree with them, because his perimeter and mid-range iso game is what was super developed for his age when they got him. He just needs to learn to get off of the ball, a little bit earlier sometimes, and not drive the ball into the paint against a crowd. 

With Exum, sure, I can agree with you there, because he could conceivably play a role like Green’s on just about any team, only I think he’s already pretty good as a point guard. He just needs to learn how to pull the trigger, not only when he’s open and the ball finds him, but some sort of pull up jumper or running floater would change his life.

In fact, I would say that between those two players, the Mavericks have both polar extremes of what is possible with the point guard position covered. It kind of seems like a race to the portion between them that neither is quite comfortable with yet.

But, my overall pushback with those screaming for more ball-handling, which I want to be clear and say is never a bad thing, is that I think its a miss-diagnosis what is wrong with the offense here. Adding more initiators to run an offensive system that is predictable, antiquated and lacks enough floor spacing isn’t going to fix what aisled them in the NBA finals. I get that part of the argument is just to take wear and tear off of Luka and Kyrie during the regular season, and I am all for that. But, I would rather them focus on the actual hole in the top 7-8 rotation first, especially since resources and flexibility aren’t the team’s strong suits at the moment. 

A guy who can play defense at a high-level WITH Luka/Kyrie on the floor (meaning he can’t be too small) AND hit 3’s is a must-get this summer. I will worry about the third point guard after that, and I’m pretty skeptical there is going to be someone available for what the Mavericks have to offer at that point who makes me not want to give Hardy a try for 15-18 minutes handling the ball.

Hardy needs to get better handling the ball.  I thought his decision making improved, but his instinct if he is crowded is to try to attack.  This is when he gets into trouble.    All during his life playing basketball if someone got in his face, his instinct is to attack.   He got away with this his whole life until the last few years in the NBA.   Improved ball handling may mean the difference of 10's of millions of dollars for him.   It is just one of many things he needs to improve on.

I actually like Exum as the backup ball handler...playing off Kyrie or Luka.   Injury is the concern.   It is one of the reason I want a fifth guard who can run an offense.   I expect LUka and Kyrie will miss time.   If Exum is also out, we saw what our offense looked like with no guards.   It was ugly!   It is also the reason why the signed a G-league guard at mid year.  I think a veteran minimum guy would be fine here.