3 studs, 2 duds from Mavericks Summer League win over Warriors

2. Dud - Jaden Hardy

Sure, Jaden Hardy led the Dallas Mavericks in points against the Golden State Warriors, but he was very inefficient, and to be honest, that’s how it’s been for the majority of Summer League.

Heading into the event, head coach Jared Dudley stated that Hardy was going to get roughly 20 shots a night. What he didn’t say was that Hardy was going to be chucking up wild shots on a lot of occasions.

In Dallas’ win over Golden State, Hardy put up 21 points, five rebounds, two assists, and two blocks, but he shot just 6-of-19 from the floor and 1-of-9 from beyond the three-point arc.

Hardy’s struggles hurt the Mavericks in overtime, too. With the Elam Ending, every possession counts even more, and Hardy took three of Dallas’ six overtime shots. However, he shot just 1-for-3, including 0-of-2 from distance, both of which were forced shots.

On the main roster, Hardy’s role is going to be that of a sparkplug scorer off the bench, but if he struggles with efficiency, Jason Kidd could be forced to keep him on a short leash.

It’s great to see Hardy have the freedom to create and get his shots up in Summer League, but he should be looking to do it more efficiently.