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

2. Dud - Jaden Hardy

This isn’t really a dud, but instead, a space to talk about Jaden Hardy’s Summer League stint and the injury that will sideline him for the remainder of the event.

According to long-time NBA insider Marc Stein, the Mavericks have decided to shut down Hardy for the rest of Summer League, as he sustained an injury in a recent contest.

Stein reported that Hardy endured a left shoulder contusion on Wednesday in the Mavericks’ game against the Golden State Warriors. Luckily, Stein also noted that the injury is not considered serious.

Before going down, Hardy was having a fairly promising Summer League stint as the Mavericks’ go-to guy on offense, but one glaring weakness presented itself - efficiency.

While he managed to average an impressive 23.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.0 blocks, Hardy shot just 35.2% from the field and 24.1% from behind the three-point arc.

Obviously, Hardy’s shot quality was much lower than what it will be in the regular season, as he was the focal point of Dallas’ offense, but to see him struggle with efficiency as much as he did was still unfortunate.

If he wants to be a mainstay in the Mavericks rotation next year, he’ll need to ensure that he remains efficient.