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Tim Hardaway Jr. Has Huge Opportunity At Shooting Guard For New York Knicks

By Kenneth Teape

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While the New York Knicks were able to end their 10-game losing streak Friday night against the Boston Celtics, it was not all smiles after the game. The win came at a price, as starting shooting guard Iman Shumpert who was lost to a separated shoulder. It is being reported that the MRI confirmed the shoulder separation, but that surgery will not be needed. It could keep Shumpert out at least three weeks, opening up a spot in the starting lineup and 26 minutes per game. There are a number of ways head coach Derek Fisher could distribute those minutes, but one player who stands to gain the most is second-year shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr.

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Hardaway Jr.’s production this season has been sporadic like many of his Knicks teammates. His playing time hasn’t been consistent, as the timeshare between Shumpert, Hardaway Jr. and J.R. Smith has been more detrimental than anything. Hardaway Jr. is getting significantly less playing time than he did last season, and it is showing in his performance as he has not been able to get into a rhythm offensively.

Hardaway Jr.’s stats are down across the board, as his shooting has become less efficient, dropping his per game scoring average. His other numbers are falling because of the decrease in playing time.

A problem for Hardaway Jr. has been the inability to play defense. Fisher is a self-proclaimed defensive minded coach, so if you do not bring it on that side of the court, you will not play. That is where Hardaway Jr. struggles with, and why his playing time has been so up-and-down. His offensive play is what drives his defense, and when he isn’t putting the ball in the basket he is a huge liability on the court.

The transition from the isolation offense Mike Woodson ran last season to the Triangle Offense that Fisher deployed has also played a factor in Hardaway Jr.’s slow start, but the minutes played is really the biggest factor.

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When Hardaway Jr. receives 20+ minutes he is extremely helpful in scoring the basketball. He has played 20+ minutes 10 times thus far this season, and has scored double-digit points in nine of those games, shooting 47.7 percent from the field. In the other 15 games he hasn’t reached 20 minutes played, Hardaway Jr. has scored double-digits only once, shooting 31.3 percent.

His plus/minus for offensive and defensive ratios are also improved when he plays more minutes, which goes right along with the notion that when he’s scoring the basketball he will step up the effort defensively. When he is given the opportunity to score the ball, it will offset his poor defense enough that he isn’t a huge liability, and is worth keeping on the court because of the added dimension he brings to the offensive side of the ball.

With Shumpert now sidelined for a couple of weeks, and Smith battling a heel injury, Hardaway Jr. is in line for as many minutes as he can handle. The Knicks are desperately looking for consistent scoring help outside of Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire, and if Hardaway Jr. is receiving the minutes he can provide it. This is as big an opportunity as any that Hardaway Jr. will have to endear himself to Fisher. If Hardaway Jr. can continue the strong play he has had the last two games seeing increased playing time because of injuries, it will be hard to for Fisher to keep him out of the lineup.

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