11-08-2023, 04:36 PM
(11-07-2023, 05:53 PM)DanSchwartzgan Wrote: I'd suggest giving it some time. How much had Hardy shown 7 games in last season? He had played a total of 10 minutes in two of the games and didn't get consistent opportunities until January.
It is tough to integrate young guys and win. Heck, even now we are still trying to work Hardy in little by little. We are also putting a ton of focus on Lively (and rightfully so). I never thought there was a chance we'd give big minutes to both Lively and OMax simultaneously to start the season. My hope is they handle him similarly to what they did with Hardy last year. I thought all along we got youngsters, but we also got vets at similar positions to hold down the fort until the youngsters were ready (Exum, Seth, DJJ, Holmes).
Well said. I assume we will see OMAX get some G-league run. Not a lot, but in games where the Mavs are off and in town, let him get some run in a G-league game. Similarly what Hardy did last year.
In our short viewing of OMAX in preseason, he didn't appear ready. Looked a little confused out there and was not cutting hard to get the ball on the wings. That is fine. I think for him I would like to see him beat out DJJ for minutes as the year goes on. That may be hard as DJJ been solid. Just like last year, I thought Hardy should compete to beat out Frank, Pinson, and other for leftover minutes. He did. The competition probably wasn't as good as DJJ has played so far though.
I really want to see more of OMAX. Really liked him in summer league. I can already tell he fits the same personality as Lively and Josh. Guys who just go out and play who will never complain they don't get enough shots. Having three of those guys if they can all play is exactly they type of guys we need around Luka.