NBA Sixth Man of the Year Power Rankings: Tim Hardaway Jr. inches closer to top spot

2. Tim Hardaway Jr.

Last week's rank: 3

Dallas Mavericks' wing Tim Hardaway Jr. is more like Bogdanovic than the other three players in the top five. He's a high-volume shooter who runs into off-nights more often than not and rises from his No. 3 ranking from last week.

But games like he had against the Minnesota Timberwolves make up for the poor showings. Against Minnesota, he made 11 of his 19 attempts and five of 11 3-pointers. Hardaway Jr. scored 32 that night and was one of three Mavs to record a positive plus/minus.

However, after his fantastic game in Minnesota, he scored a combined 22 points on 8-of-21 shooting against the Golden State Warriors and Utah Jazz. In those two contests, he went a combined 2-of-14 from the 3-point line.

The criticism of Hardaway Jr. is justified, but he's done of better job of contributing outside the scoring column. Against the Warriors, he hauled in six rebounds and recorded a season-high five assists.

Hardaway Jr. increased both his rebounding and assist marks in December. His defensive rating also improved after a disastrous mark in November. And although he's not a plus defender by any metric, he remains especially skillful when it comes to drawing charges. Hardaway Jr. is tied for the league lead with 19 charges drawn this season.

Despite a plummeting 3-point percentage, Hardaway Jr. still ranks in the top 12 in made 3-pointers per game. Of course, it's easy to do when you rank fourth in the association in 3-point attempts. But all in all, it's a testament to Hardaway Jr.'s gunslinging nature that he attempts as many 3-pointers as he does, even on off-shooting nights.