4 Studs, 2 duds from Mavericks' narrow preseason loss to Grizzlies

1. Stud - Jaden Hardy

Jaden Hardy brought exactly what everyone should have expected out of him in the Mavs' first preseason game against the Grizzlies, and he remains a walking bucket. Hardy finished with 21 points, three rebounds, three steals, and nine assists. He shot 6-16 from the field and 6-10 from downtown and turned the ball over four times.

While his efficiency wasn't great inside the arc, he was deadly from downtown.

3-point shooting seems like the area that he is going to be best in this season if he can keep it up. Hardy's 3-point shooting took a dip last season after a great rookie year, and he could make a big offensive impact if he can sink open shots consistently.

Hardy was seemingly automatic from downtown, but the turnovers were a bit concerning at times. He made a couple of bad passes and lost the ball when driving to the rim, and this is an area that he must be better at if he wants to receive consistent minutes during the regular season. Jason Kidd praised Hardy's playmaking in this game and thinks he was making the right play more often than not.

His 3-point shooting off the catch looked good, which is extremely important for his success in Dallas, and his playmaking was a step in the right direction. Hardy said that Kidd is looking for good decision-making out of him to prove that he can play in Dallas' normal rotation, and he picked up where he left off in the playoffs when it comes to his playmaking.

Hardy's ability to be a secondary creator and make the right play helped him rise up the depth chart during the playoffs and become a key X-factor, and he'll need to get back to being able to be trusted in those situations to be a solid role player this season.