Mavericks youngster's epic breakout forces Kidd into an unmissable decision

The Dallas Mavericks were able to flip the script on Sunday evening in Oklahoma City, as Dallas finally got a clutch-time victory despite Luka Doncic missing the contest due to injury. The Mavericks inflicted their size on the Thunder quite handily in this contest, as Dallas out-rebounded the Thunder by a margin of 53-29.

The Mavericks were led by P.J. Washington in this contest, as the 6-foot-7 wing scored 27 points and grabbed 17 rebounds on the evening. This comes off the heels of Washington's excellent playoff series against OKC last season in the second round, as Washington is proving that the Thunder are a favorable matchup for him.

Dallas' insistence on getting to the rim was very evident in this game as well, as they only shot 27 3-point attempts in the game. The Mavericks exploited the Thunder's lack of rim protection with Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein out of the lineup due to injury, as Dallas made a concerted effort to attack the rim and offensive glass.

It was a huge relief that the Mavericks were able to get this win without the scoring production of Doncic, especially since Klay Thompson shot an inefficient 1-11 from the field in this game. Kyrie Irving finished with 23 points and six assists in this game on 9-18 shooting from the field, but other than that, most of Dallas' offensive production came from role players such as Jaden Hardy, Naji Marshall, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Quentin Grimes.

It's time for Kidd to make Hardy the Mavs' sixth man

Perhaps the most impressive out of that group of role players was none other than Hardy, as the third-year guard finished with 13 points and three rebounds on 6-9 shooting from the field, proving himself as a prime candidate to assume Dallas' sixth man role. While Hardy has had instances where he's forced some tough shots or has played himself into no man's land on offense this year, his intent on getting to the rim was extremely noticeable in this contest, and he had some very tough finishes throughout this game.

In most games where Hardy has blossomed offensively for Dallas over the past few seasons, it's typically been because he has gotten hot from outside. However, in this game against the Thunder, Hardy used his talented dribble bag to get to the rim against some premier perimeter defenders such as Jalen Williams and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Hardy even differed to some fall-away mid-range jumpers at points throughout this contest, as he is starting to prove that he is increasingly comfortable as a first and second-level scorer. This was an essential development in this game given that Hardy has shot only 27.3 percent on 3-pointers to start this season off.

While the data would say that Hardy's 3-point shooting is bound to divert back toward 35-40 percent range here soon, it shows growth in Hardy's game that he was able to find another way to be efficient amidst his 3-point shooting woes of recent. Furthermore, Hardy's defense has also improved this season, as added strength over the offseason has aided in him becoming far more stour at the point of attack.

Hardy had 24 minutes in this contest and epitomized the production that should come out of a sixth-man piece off the bench for Dallas, which is something they haven't had consistently this season. Hardy could still be a little more consistent with his decision-making at times, but if he keeps up this sort of aggression on offense and improved defense then head coach Jason Kidd has no other choice than to make him Dallas' definitive sixth man.

Dinwiddie and Grimes are starting to improve their play on offense for Dallas, but they don't have as extensive of an offensive repertoire as Hardy does when he's dialed in, and Hardy has a golden opportunity to take the next step in his career by taking firm grasp of this role.