Grading every Dallas Mavericks player ahead of 2024 NBA Playoffs

8. Tim Hardaway Jr.

Heading into this season, Dallas Mavericks guard Tim Hardaway Jr. said he didn't know if he'd be back this season.

The Mavs were "expected" to trade Hardaway Jr. this summer, but a deal never happened, so he returned to Dallas for his fifth straight season. Hardaway Jr. quickly proved his value to the team early in the season as he was a top candidate for Sixth Man of the Year and was the Mavs' third scorer outside of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

After the trade deadline, Hardaway Jr.'s game plummeted and he has been struggling over the last few months. There have definitely been some good games sprinkled in there, but he can't seem to consistently find a way to impact the game positively.

This season for Dallas, Hardaway Jr. is averaging 14.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 0.5 steals per game while shooting 40.2 percent from the field and 35.3 percent from downtown. These numbers on paper look solid for a scorer off the bench, and they'd look even better if he didn't struggle so much at the end of the season.

From opening night to February 8 (the last game before P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford joined the lineup), Hardaway Jr. averaged 17.9 points per game and shot 36.8 percent from downtown. Since then, he is averaging 8.8 points per game and shooting 31.5 percent from downtown.

Hardaway Jr. gets a C+ for this season due to being great during the first half of the year, but the end of the year was definitely a big concern for him when talking about his future role with the Mavs.